Chase This Light
by Burakku's Shadow
Summary: Envy's trapped in his Reduced form with no way of escape. But what happens when a human girl comes into the picture? Envy's POV, rated for some swearing.
1. Prologue

**A/N****:** For the sake of the readers, I'll go ahead and tell you all this:

This story goes along the Manga version of the series instead of the Anime or any video-game series. Also, I would count this as a spoiler, 'cause it hints on Envy's "death" (I don't know if he actually dies…I haven't gotten there myself XD).

_Prologue_

I walked into the room, looking around at the emptiness. Earlier, I had gotten a message from New Greed that he wanted to talk to me here, and since he promised valuable information, I decided to come along. Now, as I walked toward the center, I began to wonder if I hadn't been set up.

"Alright, I'm here. What's up?"

I placed my hands on my hips, feeling that twang of annoyance creeping up my spine and into my brain. I didn't like wasting my time, and right now it seemed I was doing just that. If he wasn't going to come out of the shadows in a minute, I was more than ready to just leave.

Suddenly, a light illuminated the room. Since I obviously wasn't expecting this, I nearly jumped out of my skin…which probably saved one of my lives, 'cause the instant I moved from my position, a stalactite erupted from the ground and grazed against my skin.

"What the hell!?"

I looked down at the source of light and realized I was at the center of a large transmutation circle. My body began to tremble as I recognized the formula style; they were from Xerxes.

While I was paralyzed with my own stupid horror-stricken state, another stalactite erupted from a slanted angle, piercing through my back and nearly hitting the Philosopher's Stone in my chest. Writhing, I somehow managed to slip out of the sharp rock-like weapon, ignoring the searing pain that soured through my body knowing that it would die out in a few seconds.

Leaping above another that threatened to take away another one of my lives, I tried heading to the door…but it slammed shut. I could faintly hear a mischievous snicker from the other side and instantly I knew who it was who had trapped me in here.

"Damn you, Greed! I'll fucking kill you for this!"

In a silly display of temper, I threw my leg in the direction of the door and my side was punctured. "Shit…lost another life…!"

Then more stalactites erupted, and I knew I had to do more than just dodge the attacks. I morphed into dogs, cats, mice, and other types of animals. But no matter what I did, one of those damn things would somehow hurt me badly enough that would kill most ordinary humans.

That's how I counted how many lives I lost; by counting how many life-threatening injuries I was inflicted with during a fight. If I managed to go for a long enough period after receiving a potentially deadly injury, it wouldn't count toward my losses because a normal human would have recovered by then. That fact held little meaning here, 'cause I was only given a few split seconds before another injury would strike. I was losing lives and at a dangerous rate.

"Dammit…soon I won't be able to regenerate…!"

I arched my back as another tried to take out my spine, jumping and twirling frantically to preserve what lives I had left.

One more hit, and the stalactites ceased.

Panting, covered in my own blood, I sank to my knees, feeling weaker than I had ever remembered. My limbs were quaking terribly, my head was throbbing, and I couldn't feel the pulse from my Philosopher's Stone.

"Damn…only one life left…"

I heard the door creak open and looked up to see New Greed and Wrath walk in.

"Wrath…? You…filthy traitor…"

The homunculus, whose alias was King Bradley, smirked down at me. "Traitor? What about you, Envy?"

"What about…me?" I spat, glaring as hatefully as I could muster. I ignored the sword tips that immediately aimed themselves at my throat, ready to take away my last life.

"Don't think we've been unaware of your activities," Greed leered, kneeling down so we would be at eye level. Damn, would I give anything to kill him right then and there. "We know you've been sneaking information over to Fullmetal and his little group." He turned his head and waved for someone to come over. If I had the strength, I really would have killed him. "We came up with a little solution for that."

Out of the shadows came…

"Fuck you…Kimbley." Wow, I had a lot of people I wanted to kill…

Kimbley smiled smugly, giving a light bow. "Nice to see you too, Envy-san."

"Guess what he's here to do."

I glared suspiciously at New Greed, then slowly lowered my gaze to the transmutation circle on the floor. _Shit…_

I was aware of Wrath and New Greed leaving, but I didn't avert my gaze from this particular formula I happened to be on top of. _What was it that Fullmetal Pipsqueak called it? A salamander, I think. A salamander with a dragon hanging on the underside of a sun…that's my symbol of life, I think Pipsqueak said._ I looked up at that bastard human, who had knelt down in front of me. _What's he gonna do with this…?_

Kimbley just gave a small smile, placing his hands palms-down on the circle. "Sorry to have to do this to you, Envy…"

Sparks of electricity flew in the air and struck me down hard, forcing me onto my stomach and pain surging all through my body. I clenched my teeth, trying hard not to scream in agony.

Slowly opening one eye, I could see the crumbled remains of the stalactites growing bigger and bigger around me. At the same time, I could feel my physical composition begin to change…

_**To Be Continued…**_


	2. Trapped in Thought

**A/N****:** I'm aware I didn't get any reviews for my Prologue, but that doesn't matter right now. All I'm wanting to do is get this written up so the idea will finally give me peace.

**Warning****:** For those who haven't read the Manga…beware! More spoilers!

_Trapped in Thought_

I lazily opened my eyes, looking around with what mobility I was granted with my current body. From what I could tell, I was trapped inside a glass jar with crumbs of food scattered here and there. Tilting my head as much as I could, I looked up and noticed there was no lid. That knowledge was of little use to me, since I could barely crawl from one end of the jar to the other much less climb up the glass walls.

I curled my tail around my lower set of limbs, tucking the rest of them under my head. Yep, all four sets were still functioning. Now, if only my head weren't so big…I probably look like some sort of embryo from a science textbook.

I shuddered at the thought and decided to try averting my mind to some other subject.

Let's see…how about the people I know.

Well, at the top of my list of people I hate are New Greed (even Old Greed was someone to despise), Wrath and Lt. Colonel Mustang. Oh, and Rolf J Kimbley, too. Those bastards really need to die (except Old Greed. He's already gone).

You probably already know one reason why I want New Greed and Wrath to die. But that's only the beginning.

Before New Greed became one of us –a homunculus –he was this Xing boy named Ling. Apparently, Squinty-Eyes was one of the Emperor of Xing's sons, like that was any excuse for the little brat to act so spoiled. Not to mention those petty tricks he played on the battlefield. I didn't like him very well from the start, but after his servants (RanFan and her grandfather) took away about 14 or so of my lives, I liked him even less.

About Wrath? Heh, that kid's got some guts acting like he's in charge of everything. Just because he's the Fuhrer of Amestris doesn't mean he should act like he's in charge of the rest of us (particularly in Father's presence). He just really pisses me off.

Now, the Flame Alchemist…Lt. Colonel Mustang. Even if it is against orders to kill him, I want him dead for what he did to Lust and what he ultimately did to Gluttony. I mean, the worst they did was get in his way. That was no excuse to go and murder them. I should've been allowed to kill him back at that hospital…

That damn Crimson Alchemist…stabbing me in the back like that. Heh, I guess it's my own fault for not seeing it coming. But damn, what'd he do that for!? After what I did for him: getting him out of jail, escorting him like a servant, and for what? To be imprisoned in this body, trapped in a flimsy jar. Wow, what a great reward…

Now…enough with the anger. Time for something that'll lower this rage ranting inside of my head.

Now…did I mention Lust and Gluttony? They were pretty okay. I mean, we got along great…almost like siblings (hardly ironic because we share the same Father). Because they were both older than me, I didn't find it too difficult to follow orders from them (except Gluttony, only because he never gave orders). Lust…when she was just simply following a mission, that bastard Flame-head murdered her. And because of that, Gluttony went "insane" and, in his attempt to Swallow Lust's murderer, ultimately killed himself. I missed Lust miserably, myself…lucky I had my acting skills at hand, otherwise I would've done the same as Gluttony…

And Father…well, there's not that much to say about him. Although he created us homunculi with what could almost be described as cruelty, he treated us as his own children afterward, giving us loving care and encouragement. Even when things seemed to go bad, he always found some way to help us with our tasks and kept us uplifted. But, over the years, he's gotten less loving and…well, more serious on his issue with creating more Philosopher's Stones. He hardly showed any sympathy toward Lust's death, which Gluttony and I found unsettling. It didn't help that Wrath started mocking her when Father wasn't around…

Oh. I almost forgot Sloth and Pride.

I hardly know Pride, that's Wrath's district. All I know is he's the oldest of all of us (aside from Father) and his Ability is manipulating shadows. His alias is Selim Bradley, son of the Fuhrer. And he's gotten into the habit of coming when it's not necessary and not being around when he's needed...

Sloth? What's there to know about him? All that matters is he's extremely absent-minded, forgetful and overall stupid, not to mention lazy. All we have him do is dig the tunnels needed for our job of creating Philosopher's Stones out of our Sacrifices.

Speaking of Sacrifices…you remember me telling you about the orders not to kill Flame-head? Yeah, he's one of the Sacrifices, and as such shouldn't be touched until we're ready to make the next Philosopher's Stone. Another Sacrifice is Fullmetal Edward Elric.

Now, I don't really have anything against Fullmetal Pipsqueak. It's just that…well, when he gets angry, it's hard to reason with him. Weird how he's so frickin' sensitive about his height…at least he makes it up with his excellent alchemical ability. All he has to do to perform alchemy is clap his hands and bam! He's ready to go. Same for his brother Alphonse.

Now, because Alphonse Elric is in a giant suit of armor, everyone keeps mistaking him for the Fullmetal Alchemist. It's always entertaining to watch how these scenarios play out, with the way Pipsqueak over-reacts to the situation. But enough of that.

Alphonse, although he's more understanding, he just doesn't seem to be quite as valuable as his brother. I mean, c'mon, Ed opened the Gates of Truth and was the youngest person in the history of Amestris to perform Soul Transmutation. All Alphonse ever really did was keep his brother in line when they were talking to military officers (including Mustang).

Hmmm…am I forgetting anyone?

Oh yeah, Lt. Colonel Hughes (or rather, Brigadier General Hughes). Man, he was fun to kill. I transformed into his wife and he couldn't pull the trigger. Wow, that was one of my most exhilarating thrills.

But not as exhilarating as when I killed that child in Ishval. After I killed that pathetic little girl in the form of an Amestrian officer, the Ishvarans just went crazy and blood was everywhere. That was more fun than the event at Xerxes. Tons more fun.

Ah, if I still had my human face, I'd be grinning ear-to-ear with that memory.

But then I have to remember I'm trapped inside a glass jar in the same room I kept Doctor Marcoh when we were about ready to create the next philosopher's Stone. The bed was left untouched, the blood-stains were still there from when Scar had come in and used one of the Chimera's to create a fake human body to make it look like he had murdered Marcoh, and the table was still knocked over from the fuss one of the remaining Chimera's threw when its companion was being destroyed.

All I could do was curl my tail around me and swim in the thoughts and memories in my mind, waiting for New Greed to come and give me food so my last life wouldn't waste away.

_I wonder if Father is aware of this conspiracy…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	3. Gel

**A/N****:** Thanks, Wolf (alright if I call you that?). I'll keep your suggestions in mind.

ANYWAY! You know that human girl I promised in the Summary? She makes her first appearance here! YAY!

Anyway…on with the show!!

_Gel_

Another boring day of just sitting at the bottom of my jar, sleeping or being swallowed up in my thoughts. I sighed as I rolled over, un-tucking my limbs and sighing some more.

I heard the door to the room open, but I didn't bother looking. I already knew it was that bastard Greed coming in to give me food. I looked at the last bit of scraps he left me, sticking out my tiny pink tongue at it. Really, I wasn't hungry in the least, and I didn't see any reason for the others to keep me alive, so I found no reason to eat.

I heard an extra set of footsteps and almost thought them to be Wrath's except I noticed they were far lighter. I decided it wouldn't hurt to look and my eyes widened.

A human girl, no older than eight years, was tied up and (only seconds ago) slung over Greed's shoulder. She had light brown hair with a hint of copper, and she was wearing an off-white T-shirt with a light red (almost pink), medium-sized skirt and white sneakers. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she was frightened by the way her body trembled. My spine tingled at the sight of a frightened human.

Greed set her on the bed, told her to stay put and walked over to my pathetic excuse of a prison chamber.

"And how are we today, Envy?"

I glared up at his sneering face, once again wanting to claw his squinty-eyed face to shreds. When he reached his hand into the jar, I hissed and lashed my tail at him (hey, I was trapped in the form of an eight-legged lizard with a too-large head! What do you expect of me?).

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, don't be like that. Aww…you haven't eaten what I gave you last."

His fingers were so close I could've bitten them if my mouth were big enough. _Damn, I hate being small…_

He pulled his hand back out and looked over at the girl on the bed. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself, girl? Besides, I don't recall ever hearing your name."

I looked at her as well and was instantly…oh, how do I put it lightly? Drawn? Anyway, I found her blue-green eyes interesting. Hmmm…I'll go with that until I can come up with a better description.

"G-Gabriella Mizou," she stuttered, trembling from her place on the bed. Her eyes were beginning to water, too.

"Awww," Greed said almost mockingly. "That's such a pretty name…but a bit too long. Would you mind giving me a nickname you go by?"

"…Gel."

I tilted my head. _Gill? Is that really appropriate for a girl?_

"Hmmm…how would you spell it?"

"G-E-L."

If I still had my human face, I'd be giving her a contemplative look. But I'm fairly certain my curiosity could be seen…somehow. Through my eyes, I guess?

I turned my attention back to Greed, who started walking toward her. He started untying her, and the instant she was free she tried running for the door. Too bad that damn bastard was too fast for her…

"Hey, hey, don't be like that," he teased as he nimbly leapt in front of her. "I need you to stay here and keep Envy over there company." He nodded toward me and I just glared at him. After patting her on the head with that annoying grin on his face, he turned toward the door himself and started walking. "I'll be back in a sec to bring you something to eat, 'kay Gel?"

I saw her flinch when the door closed, shakily walking back to the bed and sitting down. She drew her knees close to her chest and turned her tear-filled eyes over to me. There were so many emotions in those orbs I couldn't decide whether to be disgusted by the mixture or…well, whatever. So I kept my gaze monotonic.

Gel wiped away a stray tear and walked over to where I myself was being held hostage. "Envy…?" she asked quietly, slowly reaching her hand into the jar. Instinctively feeling cornered, I warned her by giving a low growl (which, pathetically, sounded to me like a whining puppy…). Her soft fingers wrapped around my body and I was gently lifted up. _God, girl! I'm not a Barbie! Put me back –what am I thinking!? Get me away from that flimsy thing!!_

She held me close to her chest and made her way back to the bed, petting me all the while.

Although I was fairly used to people petting me when I was in dog or cat form, I couldn't get over the idea of a girl petting a freakishly mutated lizard. It just made me want to laugh 'till I died. But, of course, with this pathetically small, weak body, I couldn't really do anything other than crawl, breathe, eat and shit in the jar. Oh, and lash my tail. And make pathetic, miniscule noises that wouldn't even frighten a mouse. God, I'm feeling so pathetic right now…

"We'll be okay, won't we…?"

I looked up into her blue-green eyes. If I could speak, I would've asked something along the lines of "What do you mean by that?"

She petted my head with the tip of her index finger, the trembling in her actions slowly diminishing. "We'll get out of this…right?" A small, sad smile crossed onto her features, that sickening glimmer of false hope in her tear-filled eyes. "And then everything will be okay…"

If I had an actual heart, it'd be reaching for her right about now. But since I have a fractured Philosopher's Stone instead, I felt nothing but, perhaps, a mild twang of humor. How can this girl try lying to herself about something she doesn't even understand? Heh, humans can be so pathetic, sometimes…

"…maybe I can ask Mommy to let me take care of you…"

…_she said _what_ now?_

"Then you wouldn't have to stay in a scary place like this." I cringed when she snuggled me closer, glad that I was on the small side (for once). "I don't like it, here…"

_Tell me about it…_

She stiffened when she heard movement outside the door, lightly kissed the top of my head (uh…ew) and gently placed me back into the jar. She sat back down on the bed just as that Squinty-Eyed bastard came back in with a tray of food.

"Eat up, Gel," he said as he straightened the table before setting the tray down on it. "You want to stay alive to see Mommy, don't you?" That sickening grin once again planted itself onto his face as he observed her shakily walking to the table, sitting on a chair he scooted toward her and slowly begin to eat. "Well, I'll leave you two alone for a moment." I was so glad when his dumbass self exited the facility.

Gel looked at the door, then at me. Swallowing a mouthful of food she had in her mouth, she got back up and walked toward me. "You hungry?" she asked, picking me up again and carrying me over to the table. "We can share."

I looked at her strangely. As much as I hated being looked down with pity by humans, I had no room to complain, especially with my situation. So, when she pushed a piece of steak toward me, I began to eat.

She smiled, eating some of the food herself.

_You're an odd one, Gel…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	4. Sympathy

**A/N****:** Awww…don't worry, The-Living-Shadow! They'll be alright!

Here, well…you'll know when you read it, now won't you? Read, my little pretties! READ!! –evil laughter –

**Warning:** More spoilers for the Manga! BEWARE!!

_Sympathy_

A few days had passed since Greed brought Gel in here, and, surprisingly, things seem to be going out well. She's definitely lightened up on the hugging and that stuff, though she still likes to take me out and pet me (I'll tolerate the petting as long as I don't have to remain in that pathetic excuse of a "holding chamber").

Speaking of the little girl…she's gotten far less jumpy and doesn't tremble when Greed comes along anymore (boredom reigns supreme…). Although she doesn't talk to him unless spoken to, she bleeds her heart out to me during our "petting" sessions (God, do I _look_ like a shrink to you? Of course not!). At least she has the sense not to talk freely with that squinty-eyed bastard…

Oh, look…she's coming over for another one. Yay me, I wonder what she'll tell me this time…

Her small, soft fingers wrapped around my thin, scaly body and gently lifted me up, her hands carrying me once again to her chest as she sat back down on the bed and began to –guess what? –pet me. Yippee.

"You remember me telling you about my big brother Danny?"

_Yes, the all-Amestrian war hero. What _haven't _you told me about him?_

"Well, one time we went down by the river." Blue-green eyes migrated up to the ceiling, becoming distant in memory. "We were going fishing, you know. Anyway, we caught this _huuuuuuge_ Carp that was almost as tall as me!"

_Woo-hoo, I wonder who won the medal…_

"But then this really big bear came up…we lived up in Briggs, so we didn't get that many 'summers' much less huge fish…anyway, it wanted the Carp. And guess what my brother did?"

_He pulled out his pistol and shot the bear, right? Please tell me he did that instead of something dull like chasing it away…_

"He wrestled with it!"

'_Kay…now I _know_ you're making this up…even Flame-head would have troubles doing that._

"And in the end…the bear got away with our fish…" She pouted a little, lowering her gaze to the floor all the while petting me like I was some sort of kitten.

_Wow, what a shocker…_

She sighed, looking down at me with a sad, almost longing expression. "I wish you could talk…"

_So do I, kid._

"I wonder what kind of things you'd say…"

_Would it really be necessary to tell you anything about my life?_

She sighed, looking at the door with a strange sort of look that one gets when thinking of something mischievous while at the same time fearing the consequences of a certain action. I'm pretty sure she was thinking about running away.

I knew there was no escape for her if she tried, though. Even if she got past Greed and the others (including Father), the Guards would tear her up without a second thought. Strange, those Chimeras…then again, we homunculi aren't that much different.

"Envy…"

Although I hadn't looked away necessarily, I looked up at her face, lightly wrapping my tail around her thumb (a little signal we agreed on would mean that I was listening).

"How do you know Greed? Is he your master, like a man with a dog?"

I recoiled and gave a loud hiss, digging my claws into her flesh. _How _dare_ you think up such bullshit!? That bastard's _not_ my master!!_

She gave me a startled look, nearly throwing me out of her hands (thank God she didn't. No, wait…if she threw me hard enough, would it be enough to kill me? Damn, she didn't throw me…). "What's wrong!?"

_Your accusation, you little wench!!_

I guess she could see the flames in my eyes, 'cause her's started watering. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to make you angry…"

I tried to settle myself down, looking away and back at the jar where I should've been the entire time we've been down here in this dank room. _Maybe that's not such a bad place after all…_

Almost as if she read my mind, she stood up, carried me to the jar and gently placed me at the bottom. I coldly watched her as she ran back to the bed and started crying when she flopped on it, hugging the pillow pathetically.

_You're too soft for your own good…_

I turned away and closed my eyes, trying to find a different thought to linger on. But my mind kept returning to the pathetic excuse of a life-form. What was so important about the human race that always compelled me to give Fullmetal information that may ultimately save them all? Maybe because they had something to do with our creation? That without their honest stupidity, homunculi wouldn't exist.

I remembered Father telling us a story about a man named Hohenheim who brought Father to life. Because Van Hohenheim helped greatly with his creation, Father took a great physical liking to him. As thanks for giving him a body, Father granted Hohenheim indestructibility and immortality. It was from then on out that Father started creating homunculi.

Gel is just another human, after all, and if it weren't for her kind, my kind wouldn't even be in the imagination of the human mind. No matter how much I found her annoying, she was better than being alone with nothing but thoughts and memories. Even if I couldn't talk to her, she wasn't really all that bad…just too young for me, I guess.

I rolled over so I could look at her, a feeling of sympathy wrapping around me like a lukewarm blanket. Watching her, I remembered an instant when I was only a few days old and…_something_ frightened me (it was so long ago, I don't remember what) and Father came to comfort me. He held me as I cried (almost as pathetically as her), soothing me 'till I was calm again.

"_There's nothing like the comfort of a well-trusted person,"_ he told me as he laid me on a bed (at least…I think it was a bed). _"Maybe someday, _you'll_ be that well-trusted person."_

I sighed, watching her some more. _God, I have to be that "special someone" to a little girl…_

After a few more minutes, that Squinty-Eyes came by to drop off some food. He looked kinda surprised to see her crying on the bed.

"Hey, hey, what happened little missy?"

If I could, I would've clawed his throat out. _"Little missy"? Who does he think he is, her uncle?_

He walked over to her and started rubbing her back. "C'mon, Gel, you gotta calm down. You don't want Mommy to see you like this, right?" He plastered that annoying grin of his onto his face when she looked up at him. "Adda girl. Now…ya hungry?"

Gel nodded, wiping tears away from blue-green eyes. She stood up and sat at the eating table, though she didn't start eating right away.

I kept my eyes on the youngest homunculus, though, 'cause…well, I guess I didn't want him touching her.

_…why am I suddenly becoming so protective of her?_

"I'll be leaving now, got a mission to take care of. Hope you feel better," he said as he walked toward the door, waving over his shoulder.

_Good riddance._

She played with her food for a little while longer, then looked at me. Putting down her fork, she got up and took me out of the jar. Gently cradling me in her hands, she carried me to the table and set me down next to her plate.

I looked between the food and her. _Do I really hafta eat this…?_

She sighed, looking at her food for awhile. "I'm sorry I made you angry, Envy. I guess he isn't your master. Or if he is, he's a horrible one…" Blue-green eyes turned from the food to me, and I was half surprised she didn't start crying again. "Can you forgive me?"

I wasn't sure what to do, but sighed as a sign to her that I wasn't too angry.

Even though I wasn't hungry, I ate the piece of fruit she handed me, sucking on the juices and nibbling while watching her eat with solemnity.

_You're _definitely_ a strange one…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	5. Ill

**A/N****:** Yay, reviewers! So this idea sticking in my head really had a good point in staying lodged in my brain after all -smiles-

Yeah…take a guess what this'll be about (judging on the title…)

_Ill_

Another moment of waking up and I swear I just wanted to tear someone's head off. Agh, another nightmare…why do they plague me so badly?

Oh well, nothing I can do about it.

I noticed how eerily quiet it was and decided to look over at Gel. She was on her side on the bed facing the door so I couldn't see her face. _Weird…she usually snores, doesn't she?_

I forced my sleep-ridden limbs to carry me over to the far end of the jar closest to the bed, trying to see if she was breathing or not. I still couldn't tell.

_Something is _not_ right._

After some time, I allowed my limbs to set me down on my belly and thought over the last couple of days. Okay, let's try going over her physical appearance since she first came.

Alright…well, first off, I've noticed that she's gotten skinnier. I know she's eating, so why's she losing weight? She's also gotten paler. Food's got nutritional value, and I know Greed comes by to bring her water, too, so what's wrong with her? Okay…what else? Umm…her voice's gotten quieter, and I doubt a human getting so used to her surroundings would get quieter…I'd think she'd get louder, what with the slight boost in confidence. So what's wrong with her…?

I had to rattle my brain for a bit before anything really "lit up".

_Humans are susceptible to diseases,_ I remembered, still watching her. _Maybe she's fallen ill?_

I sighed, feeling as useless as ever. If I still had my human body, I'd get her medicine, no problem. And I doubt that bastard Squinty-Eyes will do anything to help her get better…hell, he's probably not even mentioned her existence to Father, considering he hasn't even come by yet.

_Dammit, what am I supposed to do!?_

I growled, yanking my eyes away from her seemingly lifeless form. I…I didn't know what to do. My only source of "friendship" was most likely wasting away and what was I able to do about it? Nothing. Could I call for help? No. Could I…?

These thoughts kept piling into my head, and suddenly I couldn't help but start thinking _Why do I care so much for a measly human girl? She has no significance on her own, and she's of no real use to me. So…why am I reacting like this?_

I jumped and turned back around when the door swung open and saw Greed come in. Boy, I had never been so happy to see him come by. Hell, I've _never_ been happy to see him! This had better be for something…

_Oh, damn it! Look at her already, fucking bastard!_

He set the tray of food on the table and finally actually gave her a long glance. I straightened when I saw the look on his face I was waiting for. He finally figured out something! About time he engaged his little brain…

He walked over to her, lightly shaking her shoulder. "Hey…you okay?" We both frowned at her lack of response, and he placed the back of his hand on her forehead. "Shit…"

That was _not_ the reaction I was wanting.

He sighed, stepping back and scratching his head uncomfortably. I glared at him.

_Aren't you going to do something!?_

"Guess I'll have to bring Father in, now…"

I hoisted myself onto my two rear sets of legs, lightly scratching the glass with my fore-sets. _Father knows?_

He looked over at me with a strange sort of look I'd only seen once before he became Greed, which made me wonder what was going on in his head. Even after almost two months (not including the time spent down here), I still couldn't figure this guy out…

Like, one moment he'd act like the Old Greed (without the memories of the previous), then the next he'd act like Ling. It was really…interesting, and there was just no telling where his reactions and so-forth would come from. Made me wonder if there was a co-dominance between Ling's soul and Greed's entity, somehow.

"How will I hide you though, Envy?"

…_he said _what_ now?_

"I mean, according to Father, you're dead…"

_What the hell are you trying to bullshit me with?_

I guess he was somehow reading my thoughts, 'cause he gave that annoying smirk that always told me he had something nasty in mind about me.

"I told him Kimbley killed you."

I wanted to leap out the jar and tear out his throat. To feel his blood on my hands –my _human_ hands –and hold his dead remains. It was a strong, sickening feeling…

He laughed coldly and I hissed as venomously as I could (and it actually sounded threatening! Yay!). I glared at his back as I watched him go back out the door.

After the bastard was gone, I turned my attention back to Gel. Was that ragged breathing I heard? So she's alive. But for how much longer? And will Father do anything to help her?

She stirred, rolling onto her back and opening her pale blue-green eyes. "Envy…?"

Her voice was so weak I was worried she might be dead any second.

_Stop thinking this way, Envy! You know humans aren't _that_ weak!_

But I had to remind myself that she was just a little girl, and my expectations for adults should be lowered for her case. So there was a fairly good chance of her dying right here and now, after all…

After a few more moments, Greed opened the door and Father came in following after.

_Father, please! Do something…_

"That's the girl, Father."

Father nodded, walking past Greed and standing next to the bed. He looked into her eyes, and I think she was looking back.

"Can you heal her? We do need her for our plans, after all."

I watched on anxiously, somehow hoping beyond hope that Father would heal her. I didn't want to end up being alone again, not for any reason. And if this insignificant human girl was to be my only company, then so be it. I wanted her to live.

He placed a hand on her forehead, and a spark of electricity shot out and temporarily lit up the whole room. Quickly, the light subsided again and the four corners were cast once again into shadows.

Greed leaned forward, and if I had the capability of doing so, I would've been leaning forward also.

"Rise, Gabriella."

Gel slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking around. She nearly jumped when she saw Father, but seemed to calm down after a moment after he gently placed a hand on her back and gave her a small smile. It had been so long since I'd seen Father smile quite like that…I think perhaps he was trying to help keep her calm.

"You'll be alright," he said gently, his deep voice echoing in my head. "Are you hungry? We prepared a nice meal for you."

I slunk down the glass in relief when she went over to the table and began to eat. After a few bite-fulls, she turned to Father and asked, "Are you going to eat?"

"I've already eaten," he lied, waving his hand. "I'll be back in a few days." With that, Father and Greed left the room and all was mostly silent.

Gel paused in her eating and looked over in my direction. She looked just as healthy as when she first came in here, which really made me even more grateful to Father. She stood up and walked over to where I was kept in the flimsy jar, gently picking me up. "You need to eat, too, Envy. You're so small, I'm worried you won't grow at all."

If I could, I would've started laughing my head off. I didn't think I'd be this happy to see her well again, but then again, who cares?

"Eat up!" she said happily, smiling as she pushed some scrambled eggs toward me before resuming eating herself.

Without hesitation, I started eating the food she offered.

_If you get sick again, I swear I'll kill you to rid myself of my own stupid panic-attacks…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	6. Opportunity

**A/N****:** Hmmm…I think it's about time something happened outside the room that Envy and Gel would be aware of, don't you? No, they won't be escaping quite yet (that's in the next chapter), but they'll definitely start talking more on it.

_Opportunity_

"…and that's what happened during the Ishval Rebellion!" New Greed concluded, extending his arms widely and grinning insanely. "Any questions?"

Even though I couldn't see Gel's face from my position, I could tell she was disturbed by the story. "…why are you telling me this…?"

"Because it's a story," he answered simply, giving a helpless shrug. "I thought kids liked stories."

"Not _that_ kind of story…"

Greed gave her a weird look that made me want to laugh. He glared at me as if he was actually expecting me to start laughing my head off, but of course I couldn't so he turned his attention to the door. "So…when's you're birthday? Like…the date and the year."

I tilted my head, wondering where Squinty-Eyes was going with this question. I mean, I knew she had been kept here a long time, but what was the importance of asking such questions _now_?

She tilted her head too, and I could only guess she was giving him one of her "looks". "March twenty-third, nineteen-eighty. Why?"

He stared at her for a moment, then threw his head back and just started laughing.

Gel and I jumped in surprise.

_What the hell is _wrong_ with him!?_

"Your tenth birthday was yesterday!"

My eyes widened in surprise. _…say what again?_

"…huh?" Apparently, she was confused by it, as well.

"Weren't you eight when I brought you here?" She nodded. "Well, it's been almost two years! Isn't that exciting?" He leaned toward her, cupping her chin in his hands. Damn, I wanted to lop his hands off for that… "You're the longest-surviving prisoner we've ever had. And my, aren't you becoming beautiful…"

She slapped him hard enough to throw him off-balance, scooting away from him when she got onto the bed. Clearly, she had the same thoughts I had toward that little creep.

Greed sat there stupidly, staring at her for a few minutes before rubbing his jaw. "Wow, you're a feisty bitch…"

_What did you just call her!?_

Gel sat up, crossing her legs. "I'm a human girl, not a female dog." She grinned over at me, though I still didn't completely understand what she was going on about. "According to that dictionary you gave me, a bitch is a female dog. Clearly, I am not a dog."

I tilted my head, now remembering that definition. I also recall another definition being "a problem; difficult task that no one wants to take care of or have anything to do with".

I turned my attention to the youngest of us homunculi and if I could I would've started laughing –guffawing, actually. Wow, his expression was _priceless_! Perplexity mixed in with shock and…was there a little bit of disgust I saw in there? That was the best expression I've ever seen on his face. Gel, you'd better make him make that face again real soon…

He stood up, pretending to dusk himself off and straighten his jacket. I guess he was trying to preserve some sort of dignity, as if he ever really had any to begin with. With a small, indignant huff, he strode toward the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Gel giggled. "Gonna hafta do that again sometime." She walked toward me and picked me up out of the jar. "Wow…we've been together almost two years…"

_Tell me about it…I'm still trying to get over the idea of me being stuck in this body for so long._

"…I wonder if there's some sort of fancy word for this predicament," she mumbled, placing me on her shoulder (like she's been doing for the past couple of…months, I'm guessing) and picking the dictionary back up.

Instead of paying attention to her self-taught lessons, I curled my tail around myself and settled off to a quick nap.

A few minutes later, I was jostled awake by my human companion jumping in surprise.

_What happened?_

She looked up toward the ceiling, looking worried. "Something big's going on up there…"

There was a faint, muffled bang that wafted from the ceiling, probably from about two floors up. Even though it was muffled from layers of thick concrete, I'd recognize that sound anywhere…it was a gun. The military's probably doing a siege of the place…led by Mustang, I expect.

I think she recognized the sound too, for when another one wafted down, she shuddered and put away the dictionary. "I don't like this…"

I rubbed my tail against the side of her face, trying to mimic a brush of the fingertips to help calm her. It worked apparently, for she turned her pretty blue-green eyes to me and lightly rubbed the side of my stomach.

"I hope it ends, soon…I don't want to die here."

_Neither do I, Gel._

There was contemplation in her eyes, then a look of finality. "If things continue like this, everyone'll be occupied with the attack, right? That'll be the perfect opportunity for us to try and escape."

I nodded, lightly tapping her shoulder with a claw and turning a little more to be fully facing…well, her face. I was already on top of her shoulder, so I can't really say I was turning to face her, right?

"When we escape, I'll figure out a way to help you, too."

_How will you do that?_

"Maybe I'll see if I can get that Mustang person to help…"

_Forget it, Gel. He's useless for that sort of thing…and I doubt "Bradley" would do anything to help that, either._

"If…if I don't get to see my family again…" She turned her gaze away and I could see she was struggling with tears. "What'll we do…?"

I crawled toward her neck and gently rubbed my head against it. Hey, I'm already trapped in the body of an animal, plus she treats me like a kitten anyway, why not do it? Besides, I'm pretty sure it was comforting her.

"I'm glad you understand," she whispered to me, smiling sadly. Oh great, that look of false hope…you seriously need to give that up, kid. "If we get out of here, I'm definitely gonna do something for you."

_You've already done something for me. And you're still doing it._

She looked into my eyes, and there was…something different in her's that I hadn't seen in almost four hundred years (hold on…I think it was longer than that, including the years spent down here. Oh, whatever!). It was…comforting.

"We're definitely gonna get away from this evil place."

_I'm with you all the way, Gabriella._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	7. Escape

**A/N****:** Wow…this is the moment we've all been looking forward to (almost): the moment Envy and Gel escape their prison! But how will it all go? O.o

**Warning:** Ummm…relatively small spoilers. But they're still there! WATCH OUT!!

_Escape_

Okay…things are really going bad.

Let me restart with this…you remember me talking about there being guns shot off a few floors up? Well, although that was still going on, Squinty-Eyes still managed to come down and bring food. Well, for the past several hours (or days…I've pretty much lost track of time) no one's come down. And I'm fairly sure we've missed at least two meals already.

Also, the room started quaking and cracks have been appearing all over the ceiling. Pretty soon, it's gonna cave in.

Gel…oh, that poor girl's frightened nearly to death. Right now, she's holding me close to her chest, trying to protect me from the debris falling from the ceiling. I can definitely tell you that she's crying, too, 'cause I'm all wet.

Normally, I'd be laughing at her expense. But since she's been my friend (might as well admit that now) for the majority of my prison time, I felt no such urge to mock her in any sort of way.

Suddenly, the noises stopped and dust stopped falling from above. She slowly uncurled herself from the position on the bed and looked around, wiping tears off her face with one hand. "Envy…I, I think it's over…"

_Wait a few minutes, Gel. There still very well may be danger that we're not fully aware of yet._

She got up off the bed and started walking toward the door. "I…I think this is the time for us…" Blue-green eyes turned down to me for an instant before turning back to the knob. "I just hope it isn't locked…"

_Oh don't worry, that damn thing _never_ locks._

Before she could turn the knob, the part of the ceiling just over the bed gave way and completely crushed the piece of furniture. Panicked, she yanked the door open and started running down the hall and up a flight of stairs. She didn't get very far before we were surrounded by the Guards.

"What are these things…!?" she whispered fearfully, practically squeezing me to her chest. Boy, was I glad she hadn't hit puberty yet…

One Guard in particular, a lizard-dog-sheep Chimera, leapt in front of Gel, but didn't engage in any attack. It made eye-contact with me, and it took a cautious step back. If that's the leader of this particular pack of Guards, then I think it recognized me.

Then, seemingly at random, a stalactite erupted from one of the walls and killed at least seven of the Guards. I dug a paw-full of claws into Gel's arm to snap her out of whatever was stalling her and we resumed our escape. Reaching the end of the second hallway, a sneak-attack from a hidden Guard knocked her down and I went flying out of her arms.

After I landed, I don't really remember anything. Well, my head hurt definitely, but beyond that I don't remember anything with clarity. I think Gel was bleeding, but…

Anyway, when I finally got out of my dizzy-spell, Gel and I were hiding behind a large piece of concrete that had been jarred loose and made a nice little cave big enough to hide a ten-year-old girl and a tiny mutated lizard.

I leaned my head against her chest, already knowing that she was panting and in a good deal of pain. If I was in my human form, I'd carry her out of here easily. But with this body, I could barely carry myself around.

"Envy…?"

I looked up at her, lightly wrapping my tail around two of her fingers. _I'm okay, kid._

She lightly kissed me on the top of my head, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I thought you were going to die…"

_Heh, no one can kill me _that_ easily._

Then again…this body is far more fragile than any of my other forms, so I guess I really shouldn't blame her. Besides, I over-reacted when she fell ill, so we're even.

We both heard voices and she stiffened, holding me closer as footsteps ran past.

"Where the hell did Scar go!?"

I'd recognize that voice anywhere. It was the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric.

"Brother, this way!"

So his brother was here, too. Hmmm…

The footsteps died away, and Gel relaxed some. She cautiously, carefully peaked around the corner to check if the coast was clear, then slowly crept out of our hiding place. Without a word, she started jogging awkwardly among the maze of crumbled buildings. Amazing how much damage can be caused by a pair of teenage boys and an Ishvaran serial killer…

After awhile, she had to stop and catch her breath. Leaning heavily against a half-torn down wall, she clutched one of her legs –her right one, I think –and started sliding down the bricked wall.

_Gel…Gel, stay on your feet! We don't know how long we have until another attacker comes along!_

I knew she was in pain, and she was trembling badly. I was a bit surprised she hadn't dropped me yet. But we really couldn't afford it if she couldn't get back up.

I looked up into her eyes, which were misted over in pain and exhaustion. _Hold on just a little longer,_ I thought, hoping that my eyes were telling her this message. _We're almost out._

She was taking in quick breathes, and taking in all of her physical symptoms I knew she was on the verge of passing out. This knowledge was of little use to me, however, because I could do nothing to help her.

We both stiffened as we heard footsteps again, and although I knew Gel was trying to get back up, she just didn't have the strength.

I looked in the direction of the footsteps and my eyes widened.

It was Fullmetal and his brother again.

They were both looking down at us, although I don't really think they saw me at first.

"She's hurt, Brother. We need to get her to safety."

Just as he started saying that, she passed out.

Pipsqueak looked up at his younger brother with a look of anger and impatience. "We don't have the time for that, Al! If you wanna help her, you have to do it by yourself…I'm going to capture Scar and make him tell me where he's keeping Winrey," he stated as he hurried on past Gel and I, not looking back even once.

_As long as you don't get yourself killed, Pipsqueak, then good riddance._

Al knelt down beside us, though he seemed to just now notice me. "Oh, hey there." He reached down to pet me, but decided against it. "I need to get your human friend out of here, okay?" he said to me. Although it annoyed me that he was talking as if I were some sort of pet, I was willing to tolerate it because I knew that this kid would never leave an injured person behind for any reason unless there was someone trustworthy staying behind to take care of the injured people.

_Just…oh, you're going to put her inside you, aren't you kid?_

Yeah, you read my thoughts right. I never told you who Pipsqueak's Soul Transmutation "experiment" was, did I? It was Alphonse. I don't know the entire story, but I know that Fullmetal placed his brother's soul in a suit of armor to "save the only family he had left".

Anyway, he took off his chest plate and started to gently place her inside his suit of armor. Making sure she was in a relatively comfortable position, he put his chest plate back on and picked me up (oh, he had taken me out of Gel's hands before he put her inside of him). "Let's get your friend to a hospital," he said, turning around and jogging.

_If she dies before we get help, Alphonse Elric, I am going to _kill _you…_

**_To Be Continued…_**


	8. Nature's Fireworks

**A/N****:** Alrighty…now, after this chapter, I'm gonna hafta take a break from this story so I can update (at least) my _Nightmares Come to Life_ mini-series (which I haven't touched in…like…what, four months? I think it's been longer…).

BUT I hope this chapter is to your guys' liking –nods hopefully –

_Nature's Fireworks_

This…is…_really_…uncomfortable…

Okay, so you guys know that Alphonse took Gel and me to safety, right? But where exactly _is_ this place of safety?

Apparently an abandoned building out in the outskirts of Central with some doctor that was "taken hostage" by Flame-head and Pipsqueak (I swear they've done this at least once before…). This doctor (Doctor Knox, I believe his name is?) was currently taking care of Gel.

And while I was waiting, I was stuck with Pipsqueak and his little brother. Well, the younger of the brothers was currently holding me, and I already knew he was good with animals (which is what I was, as much as I hated to admit it…), I was fairly sure I was safe with him. The only person I didn't trust in the current situation was Pipsqueak.

He was pretty pissed off about not finding Scar, so he was occasionally lashing out at either me or Alphonse. Or…pretty much anyone who was near enough for him to yell at.

He was probably more angry about not being able to save that Rockbell girl than catching Scar, though.

Oh…did I mention it was storming outside now?

So, as you can pretty well imagine, things just weren't very comfortable _at all_. Boy…how do I get myself in these situations so frickin' easily!?

_Be patient, Envy…things'll get better soon enough._

Pft, yeah right…I was outright lying to myself, and it only served to make me angry.

I guess I was trembling or something because Alphonse started petting me gently. "It's okay, little guy." He's gonna pay for calling me 'little' (great, Pipsqueak's temperament's starting to wear on me…). "I'm sure your friend's alright."

"Why are you talking to that shrimp?" Pipsqueak growled, glaring at me. I glared back, which made him glare more savagely at me. "It's a wild beast, toss it out."

"You're so cruel, Brother!"

I could've started snickering at the younger's whimpering tone, but I was a bit preoccupied with worrying over Gel's well-being.

About this time Doctor Knox came out into the hall where we were waiting. I immediately turned toward him.

"How is she?"

_My thoughts exactly, Al._

"She lost a lot of blood, but she'll be alright." I sighed, sinking a little into Alphonse's armored hand. "Do either of you know where she lives?"

"No," Pipsqueak answered flatly, forcing his chin into the palm of his human hand (oh yeah, I might've forgotten to mention…Fullmetal has a mechanical right arm and left leg called Automail). He looked thoroughly annoyed, to say the least (not that I wasn't annoyed by his attitude).

"We found her while we were looking for Scar."

_And…neither of you realized that you found her near Father's "hide-out"?_

Doctor Knox gave them both a hard look, changing it when he looked down at me. "So…is this lizard thing Envy? She keeps mumbling about some Envy in her delusions."

I felt Alphonse straighten up in surprise and even Pipsqueak gave me an odd look when I glanced in his direction.

"Envy?" the brothers said in unision, looking at each other before the older leaned closer toward me.

_Wow, your attitudes changed a lot…_

"Is there something wrong?" the doctor asked. I wanted him to just shut up and bring me to Gel so I could be sure that she was doing alright.

Suddenly, I heard Gel screaming out my name in panic. Next thing we all knew, she was running out into the hall looking frantic.

"Where's Envy!?" she screamed, trembling. Everyone pointed to me and she hobbled over, picking me up and hugging me. "Envy…"

I rubbed my head against her, curling my tail around her undamaged wrist. I was glad she was okay enough to be able to stay on her feet, but I was worried when Knox's report resurfaced in my mind.

I heard a slight clanking of metal and knew it was Alphonse leaning forward a little.

"Where did you find Envy?"

Gel and I looked at him, and almost instantly I felt her body trembling.

"…at that room where Greed took me…"

"Why did Greed take you?" This time, it was Fullmetal that spoke. Boy, did that look in his eyes make me feel uneasy…

"I-I don't know…he said something to Mommy about sacrifices and he took me away…"

The brothers looked at each other strangely (well, the oldest had a strange look on his face…I couldn't really tell with Alphonse because he's basically a walking, talking suit of armor), which made me uncertain. That look could mean anything.

I noticed a series of flashes coming from the window and I couldn't help but look over at the wood-and-glass contraption.

_Hmmm…looks like some sort of lightshow. And…did the rain stop? I don't hear any thunder…_

Then something connected in my mind and I wanted to go over to the window. I tried to make it obvious to Gel by climbing onto her shoulder closest to the window and making whatever sounds happened to come into my head.

"Envy? Is there something going on outside?"

I looked back to meet with blue-green eyes and nodded, trying to speak in English. Luckily, what came out was "Go now" (though it was garbled up). I was vaguely aware of the brothers looking at each other again and standing up, but I was focused on getting her outside.

She looked a little surprised, but nodded. "Okay…let's go outside."

With that, we all headed out the door and I leapt onto the banister once we got close enough, looking up at the sky as soon as I could.

Although the sky was dark, there were flashes of lightening that would make the sky light up almost as if it were still daytime, if only for a brief second. Occasionally, there were small rounds of distant rumbling thunder, but for the most part the only sounds were crickets chirping and the wind rustling through the trees.

"It's almost like fireworks," I heard Alphonse say, awe in his voice.

"Yeah…sure is." I didn't think I'd ever hear that sort of curiosity in Pipsqueak's voice for anything other than alchemy.

"Nature's fireworks…lovelier than man-made junk," muttered Doctor Knox.

I felt a hand gently cover my back and I looked back to see Gel looking up at the sky, tears making her blue-green eyes glisten beautifully. I gently wrapped my tail around her wrist and looked back at the sky, once again feeling that sense of…well, whatever sense it was that I always felt when I watched lightening shows.

_I remember when Father and the rest of us would watch these events happen in nature. It always made me feel special…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	9. New Fear

**A/N****:** Okay, so I got done with my finale two days sooner than expected. So…guess what? Yeah, another chapter! Yay! –fireworks go off while only three people in the crowd of thousands cheer –

Anyway…I bet some of you are curious about the chapter's title. Well…to find out, you'll just hafta read the chapter! Now, won't you? –cackles darkly –

ON WITH THE SHOW!!

_New Fear_

Oh…my…God…my…body…hurts…like…hell…

Okay, want me to start over? Heh, I bet you do.

Alright, here's a fairly good starting point. So after the lightning show, we go back inside the cabin, right? And since it's so frickin' late in the night (or early in the morning, take your pick), you'd expect us to go to bed, right?

Wrong. Pipsqueak decides it's the perfect opportunity to start the interrogations. Woop-dee-doo…

So now, I'm in the room where Doctor Knox was earlier treating Gel. I'm on the table, she's sitting on a bed, and Fullmetal's standing there in front of her spewing out questions like a waterfall. Gel could only be so lucky that Alphonse was in the room with him to slow down his questions and make them "simpler" for her to understand. Doctor Knox helped a lot with that, too. I liked his attitude pretty well, but it didn't do much to lighten the mood in the room.

The fierceness in his eyes told me Ed was thinking of a very serious question, but instead of outright asking it he turned to his younger brother to "simplify the question". I didn't bother listening in, knowing that the question was going to be asked anyway (just in a different fashion). I also knew it was going to be directed at Gel, 'cause the brothers knew I was intelligent enough to understand what they meant.

I let go of the pencil and basically "crashed": I was exhausted from writing out my answers on a sheet of paper (who knew something as simple as _writing_ would be so damn hard…?) and my body ached terribly from doing a practice this body was just not designed to perform. Plus, the damn instrument was twice my height right now! I knew I was small, but I didn't realize…

Oh lookie, Pipsqueak's turned back around with that look of finality. Wonder what the question's gonna be…

"Gill…or Gel, whatever…what was your mother's job?"

_Hmmm…interesting question. I'm curious about that, myself._

I turned my eyes toward her ('cause my body's too damn sore for me to even think about lifting my head and turning it to look at her) and met with blue-green ones. She looked tired, and with her physical condition, I wasn't the least bit surprised. I just sighed, thinking that there was no reason to hold back the information and wanting to communicate that thought out to her.

She seemed to pick up on it, 'cause she looked back at Fullmetal's gold eyes. "My mom was a scientist. I think she was studying something called alchemy, but I don't remember for sure…"

"Because it was two years ago…?"

_Wow, Pipsqueak, I _really_ didn't like your tone there…_

She nodded, despite obviously not liking his voice tone either. "Yes."

The brothers exchanged glances and Doctor Knox looked at his watch, yawning widely while doing so. I completely agreed with his gesture, by the way.

A thought suddenly hit me like a brick to a window. _Why the hell didn't this come into my mind before!?_

Grudgingly picking the pencil back up, I wrote out my question and made a loud squeal to get the boys' attentions when I finished. I dragged myself off the piece of paper so Edward could pick it up and read what I wrote.

"'Since your brother's still in that suit, I assume the next Philosopher's Stone hasn't been created. Why?'" He gave me an odd look and I glared at him. I wasn't in the mood for silly facial expressions. "I really don't know why, Envy." He raised his hands in an almost defensive gesture when I hissed venomously at him. "Hey, I'm sorry I can't help you, but I honestly don't know!"

I just dropped onto my stomach, drained. _Okay, I don't give a fuck what you do to me…I am _not_ answering another question. I'm too damn sore!_

As much of a genius everyone claims Fullmetal to be, I swear he's the dumbest creature I've ever met (aside from Sloth, of course). Sure, once he calmed down and was thinking rationally, he was pretty damn intelligent, but all other times it just seemed to me that he had no functioning brain cells at all whatsoever. It really made me wonder how he was qualified to become a State Alchemist (or National Alchemist, the title doesn't matter). Maybe it was before he started frying his brain cells?

About here, Doctor Knox interrupted. "Okay, you've interrogated my patient for long enough. Time to let her rest." He glared back at Pipsqueak when he glared in protest. "Do we need to engage in another war or are you going to listen to the doctor?"

_Ten out of ten, Doctor!_

Needless to say I was pleased when the older sibling left the room. I was less pleased that Alphonse left the room as well, but it wasn't "unbeneficial" for him to stay, either.

The dark-haired doctor came over to me and gently placed the stethoscope on my chest (it actually covered my chest, stomach and a little bit of my throat, too). Wow, that cool metal felt so good on my cramping muscles… "Your heart sounds fine," he muttered, taking the stethoscope off of me. Man, I wanted for it to stay on my body a little bit longer to sooth my body…! "But then again, I'm a human doctor, not an animal doctor." He gently picked me up and carried me over to a very eager Gel, who took me carefully and gently hugged me. "Now, I don't want you sleeping with Envy…you might accidentally crush him in your sleep. So put him on this nightstand here," he said, patting a wooden table right next to the bed. After she nodded, he turned around and started heading out the door.

I turned my eyes up to blue-green ones, sighing. _Well…what do we do now?_

She gave a weak shrug. "I don't know what you wanna do, but I wanna sleep…"

_My thoughts exactly…_

Lightly kissing me on the top of my head, she began to set me on the nightstand when there was a sudden shattering of glass outside our room.

_What's _that_ about?_

I didn't have to wait long before the brothers and the doctor came back into the room at gunpoint by a military officer. Strange, he looked almost identical to the man I used to disguise myself as when I still had my powers…wasn't he specially created by Wrath so I could go into military bases without difficulty?

_That's _way_ too suspicious…_

I looked over at Pipsqueak, and he seemed to have similar thoughts, judging by his facial expression. Or at least he seemed to think that something wasn't quite right.

"Sit in those chairs by the wall over there," the officer directed, motioning toward three chairs in particular closest to the bed with is riffle. He gave a small, strange sort of smirk when the other three males obeyed, a smirk I usually gave when things where going my way and I was pleased with the results…

I definitely felt Gel trembling, and I didn't blame her one bit (although for a different reason than her, I'll admit). I gently rubbed my tail against her wrist, lying to her about the situation being safe ('cause I really wasn't all that sure myself).

"What do you expect to gain from a doctor and two alchemists?" Doctor Knox asked, eyes narrowed in agitation. He didn't seem to be alarmed by the uniform or gun whatsoever. Guess he's become accustomed to such things from the Ishvaran Rebellion or something (he was muttering something about dealing with corpses earlier…).

"It's not the doctor I'm looking for," he answered, giving Edward a smug smile. "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, right?"

"What's that gotta do with anything?" Pipsqueak answered, crossing his arms and looking very, very serious. He can be really good at it when he's really wanting to.

"A lot of things," the officer answered, closing the door and locking it. After that, he lowered his weapon and gave the brothers a strange sort of look that…wait, isn't that another expression I used to use before I was trapped in this body?

My eyes widened as a sudden thought entered my mind. _God…please don't let it be…_

"Who are you?" Alphonse asked, voice low and angry. I was impressed with the tone he was using in this particular situation.

The officer shrugged, grinning. "Well, since I already know who you two are…I guess it wouldn't hurt," he answered, and as he said this, his voice changed…and so did his body. My eyes widened even more when my speculation was proven true, as there standing near the doorway was an androgynous boy with short black hair (was there a ponytail at the nape of his neck? I couldn't tell), a black belly-shirt and black leather pants. Lightly placing the tips of his fingers on his chest, his smirk widened as he proclaimed, "I am the New Envy."

_God, no…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	10. Another Surprise

**A/N****:** Wow…got a bigger reaction from the last chapter than I expected. And…I've got two things to say:

**1)** I would never, ever, EVER dream of making New Envy cuter than the original Envy.

**2)** No one's in danger…yet.

Then what does New Envy want, exactly? Well…read the chapter title! And…uh…well, prepare to be amazed! I guess XD

ON WITH THE SHOW!! And…to the big surprise!

_Another Surprise_

I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I mean, wouldn't you be shocked to meet your replacement so suddenly?

Other than his general appearance (clothes and hair-style), he looked a lot like my preferred human form. The slender body, the flashing purple eyes…almost identical. Even the facial expressions! If I could, I would've died. No, wait…I _can_ die. Agh, what in the world am I thinking!?

New Envy started walking toward the siblings but stopped mid-stride and instead sat on the table. Although I knew I used to make that same expression, that sadistic smirk made me sick. It also made me question why I became like that in the first place…

"New Envy…what do you want with me?"

God, I was _so_ glad to hear so much venom in Edward's voice. It was…strangely comforting that he was also disturbed by these circumstances.

"Just some answers," the newest homunculus answered calmly, leaning back on the table leisurely like it was some sort of mattress or something. "You don't mind, do you?"

I turned away from NE and looked sharply at Fullmetal. He seemed to be thinking it was a trap, but seemed to also want to go along with the request.

"…answers to what kind of questions?" he countered, his hand still on his chin. I hate that contemplative look in his eyes…

Realizing that Pipsqueak wasn't going to be much help with getting rid of this creep sitting on the table, I closed my eyes and tried to settle into Gel's trembling hands. I reopened them to look up at blue-green ones, feeling…I guess "bad" for her. I mean…she just barely escaped imprisonment, almost died in her attempt, and she's just finished being interrogated. She needed some relaxing time, not "Fear Factor" time.

"About a certain homunculus you used to know."

My attention snapped back to the oddly-dressed homunculus, eyes wide. _He's not referring to _me_…is he?_

There was silence in the room until Ed curtly said, "Shoot."

"From what I understand, you've had quite a few run-in's with the original Envy, am I correct? What was he like?" I was stunned by his question. Apparently, Fullmetal gave him a similar look 'cause he added, "None of the others will tell me anything about the original guy. And really, I'm curious." I didn't see any lies in his eyes, which concerned me. Usually, young homunculi don't learn to mask their eyes until about ten years or so, and I knew for a fact that Father must've thought I was dead for two years. Was he really _that_ curious about who I was?

I looked over toward the brothers. They were looking at each other, and I couldn't figure out what exactly the older sibling's expression meant. I saw perplexity, definitely, but what else…?

Gold eyes met with younger purple ones. "Any definite characteristics you're looking for?"

"Any's fine."

"Well," he started, looking at me with that strange spark in his eyes. It was almost identical to that of New Greed's when he was thinking of doing something "evil" to me. I could only guess what exactly he was going to tell him… "For one, he's _super_ scrawny," he said, holding out his hands about four inches apart for emphasis. "You could see his bones and everything! Another…his true form is _hideous_," he added, dragging the skin under his eyes down so that it looked like the skin on his face was melting away. "Plus…he dresses like a _girl_!" God, I wanted to tear out his throat and pull out his innards _so_…_frickin_…_bad_…!

I didn't like the look on NE's face, either. "…are you serious?" He frowned when Fullmetal nodded. "Nuh-uh! I doubt such a glorious killer would be like that."

Man…if I had my human face, I'd be grinning. Probably trying to keep from laughing, too. I felt so…oh, how should I say it? Honored? Yeah, sounds about right. I felt honored that a homunculus as young as him would find an old person like me "glorious". I was also impressed that he wouldn't believe the words of someone who supposedly "knew me well". I really would've started laughing at Pipsqueak's expression. It was almost identical to Squinty-Eyes' when Gel started teasing him on his word choice.

Alphonse straightened his posture. I was sure he was going to say something that would likely correct his brother's words about me. "Envy wasn't scrawny, but merely slender, like yourself. He didn't dress like a girl, exactly, either. Wore the same shirt as you, but also wore a skort. He didn't wear any shoes, either," he added, pointing to the boots NE was wearing. "Also, he had long black hair. And I didn't think his true form was _that_ ugly, more like…horrifying." He shuddered a bit in emphasis, though not nearly as exaggerated as his brother's gestures.

NE seemed to like this description a little better, although he didn't seem to completely agree. Probably the only reason why he didn't outright protest was because, as he stated earlier, none of the others would tell him what I was like, so he had nothing to use to oppose any of these descriptions of me. Instead, he waved. "Continue."

"Personality-wise? Umm…he was pretty talkative, I think," Al said, looking at his brother who nodded in agreement.

"Ah man, could that guy talk," Ed said, waving with a strange look on his face. "But he knew how to talk without revealing a ridiculously large amount of information. Also, when he wanted to get straight to the point instead of talking around the issue, he knew how to do that without being insulting."

"He also knew how to do his job," Alphonse added, looking at nothing in particular. "For example…he was assigned to keep me and my brother alive, right? Well, he did just that; plus more. He saved my brother more than once."

Fullmetal nodded, which impressed me. Although I knew for a fact he kept all of the insults thrown at him logged into his memory, it was hard to tell whether or not he really remembered anything else. "He saved me from the Fifth Laboratory when it was crumbling down, for starters. Also…he supplied me the Passage Fee for opening The Gates: the souls in his Philosopher's Stone. Without his help, I'd…probably be dead right now."

New Envy tilted his head, curiosity clearly visible in his eyes. "The whole 'doing the job' thing, I can understand. But…weren't there other things that he did other than keep you two alive?"

A hateful glower crossed on the older brother's face, which sent minor chills running up my spine. I already knew what he was going to bring up. "Yeah…one of his jobs was to somehow start a blood bath in Ishval. He shifted into an officer and shot an Ishvaran child, thus starting the Ishval Rebellion." His icy look was directed at me, and I burrowed as deeply into Gel's hands as I could. She started petting me gently right about here. "Although this speculation's never been proven, I'm pretty sure he murdered Brigadier General Maes Hughes, as well."

NE seemed better satisfied with this additional information. A small smirk materialized onto his features, a little bit of malice in his eyes. "That sounds more like it. Now I _really_ wanna be more like him."

_Okay…he did _not_ just say what I think he said. He doesn't really wanna be like _me_…does he?_

The others seemed to have the same thought, judging on their facial expressions when I was finally able to yank my eyes away from the young homunculus.

"Thanks for being so cooperative, Fullmetal," NE chirped, smiling brightly (almost like a delighted child who just discovered candy). He stood up and walked toward the door, unlocking it. "I'll be seeing you around," he added with a mischievous grin before he walked calmly out the door while at the same time changing back into that military officer.

Everyone gave me stunned expressions, and even Gel was looking at me with a strange, curious look.

"You know," Edward started, leaning forward and placing his chin in the palm of his human hand, that look of curious awe still on his face. "I never thought I'd ever meet someone who was so curious about you as that one homunculus."

_For once, I completely agree with you, Fullmetal._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	11. Disastrous Disappointment

**A/N****:** This chapter took longer to get around to than I thought…

Anyway, Gel and Envy have split from Ed around this time (it's been about a month since last chapter). Guess what the human girl wants to do? Hint: think back before they made their escape. What was one occuring detail that she always wanted to talk about? Also worthy of note, I'm straying from the initial plot of the manga (you'll understand what I mean when you read this chapter).

**Q's and A's!** Here's a question that I want you guys to answer in your review… **What's your favorite chapter so far?**

Anyway…on with the show!

_Disastrous Disappointment_

I woke up with a jolt, looking around myself swiftly. It took me awhile to remember that Gel had "gotten" a hotel room (courtesy of Fullmetal), but when I finally realized this, I relaxed. Great, another nightmare…they're so bothersome.

Still feeling a bit on the stiff side, I looked over at the bed Gel was sitting on, staring out the window at the early-morning sky. I squeaked to gain her attention and she looked over at me with a bright smile.

"You're awake!" She stood up and strode over to me, picking me up from the soft piece of cloth that served as my bed. "Guess what we're gonna do today?"

_Go over to your house, you've told me over a thousand times…_

"That's right!" she exclaimed, even though I was sure she was going to say that regardless of whether or not she could actually read my mind. "We're going to my house! Hopefully, Daddy or Mommy are home…Danny's probably still off at that training camp," she mused, looking out the window again whilst placing me on her shoulder. "…should we pack, just in case?"

_I wouldn't count on your parents being home, but do as you wish._

She started rummaging through her clothes, neatly folding her clean articles and placing them neatly in a suitcase that Alphonse had lent her.

Oh, I should probably explain a few things before Gel and I set out, shouldn't I?

Well, according to the Elrics and Doctor Knox, there's been this war going on in the surface world for about a year. It hadn't gotten very serious 'till about two or so months ago when it reached Central and started destroying homes and places of business (for example, the military's main headquarters). If there weren't any dead bodies laying around, then people were missing, the large majority of those being scientists. Edward theorized that Father's been rounding up more Sacrifices, which I agree with. Briggs had been detonated (save for a small number of survivors), and I agree with the siblings that Central is now the main target for the bloody rampage. Apparently, Ed and Scar had very little to do with the damages down in that area where Gel and I escaped our imprisonment…

A click from the lock on the suitcase initiated the beginning of our departure of this hotel.

I looked at blue-green eyes, which were shining with excitement. "Ready to go, Envy?"

_As ready as I'll ever be._

Slinging the suitcase over her shoulder and picking up a notebook that Doctor Knox had given her, she walked out of the room (wow, she didn't make the bed…she usually does that) and checked out at the counter.

"You sure you don't wanna stay?" the desk person asked, hesitantly holding out the papers she needed to sign. "It's kinda rough out there, what with this war and all."

"I'll be alright," she assured him, signing the papers and handing them back. "I'm going to see my parents!" she chirped, walking out the building with a bright smile on her face. I didn't like the look on that man's face when she walked out the doors, though…

As we walked down the streets, it was clear that Pipsqueak hadn't lied about there being a lot of destruction. Buildings were partially crumbled down, there was smoke coming in from civilian areas, and there was even an occasional gunshot or two sounding off in the distance. I was pretty surprised that she didn't flinch at the banging.

After awhile, she stopped at a fairly-preserved house (and by preserved, I mean the walls where still standing. The only thing odd about the building was that the roof was missing). She looked at it oddly as if she was expecting it to be the way she remembered it.

_Is this the house, Gel?_

"Here goes nothing," she said with a slight sigh, walking up the steps to the front door. Slowly turning the knob and pushing in, she walked into a shadowy hallway that was eerily quiet (the streets were pretty quiet too, but this was like not being able to hear). "Hello?" she called, walking into what I assumed was the kitchen. Shaky fingers felt for the light-switch, but of course it didn't work. "Mom? Dad?"

I didn't like the look of the kitchen; eating utensils (forks, etc) and plates were scattered all over the floor, most of the cupboards were torn off and splintered remains were all dumped in the sink. Also, the room stank from old spices that had been strewn on the floor and many of the foods in the refrigerator looked spoiled (the door was left hanging open). I looked at Gel's face, not liking the look of shock written all over her features.

"This isn't what it looked like when Greed came…" she whispered, her voice sounding almost choked. She gently grabbed onto me, trembling. "I don't want to know what the rest of the house looks like…"

I wrapped my tail around two of her fingers. _I'm right here, Gel. You don't have to be scared._

She left the kitchen and started walking up the stairs, shaking her hand to dislodge the dust that made contact with her hand when she touched the banister. Reaching the top step, she skipped the first door on the left and carefully wrapped her fingers around the knob of the second door. We both took in a careful breath and she turned the silver contraption, pushing inward and stepping into the room.

It was a normal girl's room with dolls lining one of the shelves and a dresser standing next to a white-blanketed bed. It also appeared to me that the room had been left untouched.

"No one came in here?"

I looked into her eyes and was a bit surprised to see tears in them. Shouldn't she be happy that no one's touched her room?

"Mommy said she'd come in here…"

Oh. Was there something her mother said she'd bring in here?

There was a crashing sound from downstairs that made the both of us jump in alarm.

_What was _that_?_

She whirled around so fast I almost fell off her shoulder. Luckily, the crash startled me into digging my claws into her dark-green shirt so I didn't fly off. Slowly leaving the room, she peered over the banister and my eyes narrowed to look into the darkness below. There was a shattered vase on the floor, and…was that some sort of cat that zipped by?

"Cloudy?"

I looked at her strangely, wondering what she was going on about.

"Is that you, kitty?"

_Oh, Cloudy's the name of your pet._ This was quickly proven true when a white cat appeared at the bottom of the steps, mewing softly. _Correction: your cat._

"Cloudy!" Gel hurried down the stairs, stopping short when the stupid animal dashed away. "Cloudy? What's wrong?" Setting me on the banister, she knelt down and started making distorted meowing sounds. What did she think she was, a Cat Whisperer?

Slowly, the cat came back out. Pausing long enough to give me what could almost be described as a distrusting look, Cloudy hurried over to the awaiting arms of its owner.

"Cloudy, you're okay!" She started giggling when it forced its nose into her armpit, pushing it back gently and rubbing its head. "I'm glad to see you, too." Picking the furry menace up in her arms, she brought it over to where I was perched on the banister. "Cloudy, this is Envy. Envy, Cloudy."

I stiffened when the cat started sniffing me, flattening its ears when it was done and trying to move away from me with that almost icy look in its green-gold eyes. It tried to swipe at me with claws fully extended and I whipped at him with my tail in self-defense.

"Cloudy! That's not very nice," she said, putting the beast back down. It just grumbled at her and glared at me. She sighed, looking between the two of us. "Which one of you boys should I take with me? I can't take you both…" I could see tears in her eyes, and I knew she didn't want to leave her old pet behind.

I purred gently, trying to make myself comfortable in my position on the wooden banister (which was smothered in dust). I knew her decision was hard for her, but to me, the choice was fairly obvious: she had to leave the cat behind. I mean, Cloudy can hunt and survive on his own, while I could barely move around by myself. But of course, I thought through these sort of things with logic, and Gel was a bit too young to start thinking the same way quite yet.

_Please, Gel…not when we've made it this far…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	12. Second Arrival

**A/N****:** Okay. I've officially made my decision: I'm going to be asking one question that I want my faithful reviewers to answer in either 1) their reviews, or 2) PM's.

**Q's and A's!** Here's the question: **Did you guys pick up the symbolism of Gel's choice last chapter?** I know I already told one of you, but the rest of you…well, just wanna see if you guys picked up on it.

Anyway…here, we'll see the re-entry of someone who's been in the story fairly recently. Guess who it is! Or…no, wait. Read the chapter! –ignores glares from the main characters in the story –

ON WITH THE SHOW!!

_Second Arrival_

I gently rubbed the top of my head against the back of Gel's jaw as we walked out of the building, Cloudy chasing her heels playfully. Blue-greed eyes were still sparkling with tears, though her face remained dry. When we walked to the center of the street, she turned around and the cat stopped short, sitting down and looking up at her curiously.

"Cloudy," she started softly, kneeling down to pet the top of his head. "I'm sorry…you have to stay here." I felt her trembling, and even the furry menace seemed somewhat concerned. Or was that confusion? I can't tell too well with animals… "I know you can hunt on your own, and I'm sure you'll find new friends, and…"

I placed my tail around the back of her neck, purring gently. Leaving someone you know well behind wasn't easy for me, either, and I could only imagine how bad it was for a little human girl.

She stood up, turning around. Soft fingers shakily petted my side, tears rolling down her cheeks. I looked back when the cat meowed piteously, seeing the almost distraught look in his eyes. He was standing up, too, with one paw raised.

_You don't want her to go, do you?_

I turned my attention back to my human friend and started leaning gently against her neck, purring some more.

"Bye, Cloudy…"

"Murr…bye," I heard the cat garble out before scurrying sounds signified his departure.

She stood there crying silently for a few seconds, then briskly turned in the direction we had come and started walking quickly. I knew her choice might hurt now, but if things continue progressing the way it's been the whole time, then she'll heal…in time.

After a few moments, though, a military officer mysteriously walked out into the open and bumped into Gel, almost knocking her back.

_Who the hell…?_

I looked up at him and my eyes bulged. I felt her stiffen when she looked at him, as well.

New Envy, in the guise of an officer, looked down with surprise and offered her a hand. "Sorry, didn't see you there." After he pulled her up, a strange look came onto his face. "Hey…haven't we met somewhere before?"

"Y-Yeah," she stuttered, wiping away tears from her face. "At the cabin…you're New Envy."

A broad grin spread on his face and his blue eyes temporarily flashed purple. "Oh yeah! One of Doctor Knox's patients?" He gently patted the back of her shoulder when she nodded. "Good that you're doing better, then. But…" His grin dissipated, blue eyes narrowing. "What are you doing back in Briggs?"

Again, I felt her stiffen. "How did you know I was from here?" she asked quietly, placing a hand over me protectively (which I appreciated).

"You're Gel, right? Greed told me about you." He looked around, probably checking if anyone was watching. When he was sure the coast was clear, he shifted back to that form he revealed back at the cabin. "Anyway…you still haven't answered my question."

"I…I was hoping to see my parents…"

"And they weren't here?" She shook her head and his shoulders sagged faintly in what I assume was sympathy (he kept a curious yet understanding look on his face). "I'm not surprised. There was an evacuation about two days before the war hit this general area." He then looked at me, and I swear the weirdest sensation ran up my spine. "What's that on your shoulder?"

Before she answered I dug a paw-full of claws into her shoulder as my little warning. Blue-green eyes turned to me, and I slowly shook my head before looking back at my replacement.

"Oh…he's just a friend."

_That should be okay, I guess…_

He stared at me for a few more seconds, a flicker of suspicion temporarily lighting his eyes. Then he shrugged, looking off to his left as he placed a hand on his hip. "So…where are you wanting to go next? I can give you an escort, if you'd like."

"No thanks," she answered a little too quickly in my estimation, stepping to the side to walk around him. "I'll just walk to the nearest train station." She shuddered faintly when he blocked her path once again, a wry smirk materializing onto his lips.

"I don't think you quite understand your situation, young Gel," he said in a low voice, malice in his eyes. "You can either come with me peacefully, or we can make this hard. Wrath's already made it clear that we need you back ASAP, so you really don't have much of a choice."

She started trembling and I glared angrily at the fool homunculus, growling. "Where…where are my parents?"

His smirk widened into a grin as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "They're safe…for now. But really…what are you going to do?" He almost started laughing, tilting his head to the side with a sadistic look. "Hah! What _can_ you do?" Purple eyes widened in surprise as she shoved his hand off of her, the smirk wiped off completely and replaced by a look that read "What the heck…?"

"I'm not going with you," she stated with more conviction in her voice than her trembling conveyed, which impressed me a little. So she _has_ gotten braver. "And I'm going to see my parents. I don't know when or where…but I'm not going with you." She tried walking around him but he quickly stopped her.

I tumbled off her shoulder as he roughly grabbed her with one arm, swinging her around 'till her back was up against his chest. My eyes widened in alarm when I looked up to see his right arm transform into a blade and press against her throat.

"Now, now," he cooed cruelly, smirking again. "Don't be like that." His smirk disappeared again and a more serious look was adopted onto his features. "Seriously…I'd rather not fight, but if you keep on insisting, I'll have no other alternative. So…please? Just come along quietly."

I looked into blue-green eyes, fully aware of the fear and anger swimming around in those orbs. If you asked me, I'd want her to be able to escape. But of course, homunculi are too swift for humans, meaning no escape for her when it came to NE. With her current situation, I'd want her to be peaceful about this capture.

_And to think I thought you'd be really cool, Replacement_…

"I'll go…if I can take my friend along with me," she replied carefully, trying to mask the trembling in her voice.

He looked down at me. "Ah, the little pipsqueak. Yeah, he can come along, I've got no issues with that." Slowly letting go of her with a cautious look, he shifted his blade-limb into rope and tied a loose knot around her waist. He then reached down toward me, placing me back on her shoulder. "All ready?"

She nodded in a way that wouldn't spill her tears, gently stroking me. "Just…just need to grab my suitcase…"

"The one on the doorstep over there?" the young homunculus asked, pointing to the brown leather suitcase that sat at the bottom stair in front of the door. When she nodded, he shifted his other arm into a snake and "grabbed" it, despite the incredible distance. "Anything else?"

_You're being strangely nice, New Envy…_

Gel shook her head, stroking copper-brown hair down after a light breeze ruffled it. "No…"

Nodding affirmatively, he untied her and shifted back into that military officer. "Let's get going, then." Placing a hand behind her back, he lightly pushed to get her started and started walking along-side us. "So…any car-ride games you like to play? It's a long trip back to Central…"

_I realize, dumbass…now, get your hand off of her before I bite it off._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	13. Automated Species

**A/N:** Alrighty…

Okay, here's the answer to last chapter's question: **Cloudy symbolizes Gel's **_**Past**_**, Envy symbolizes Gel's **_**Future**_**. The choice symbolizes the significance of either **_**holding onto your past**_** or **_**moving forward**_**.** I'm quite pleased that the great majority of you reviewers picked up on the symbolism –smiles –

This chapter's question: **Would you consider **_**Fullmetal Alchemist**_** fantasy or science fiction?** You don't have to give any supporting details, we're not in school here. I'm just curious about your opinions.

And…on with the show? Man, I need a new catch-phrase…

**Warning!** This contains some material that may not be suitable for younger readers. If you are sensitive to this sort of material, I will take no offense in you leaving.

_Automated Species_

_I sat on a concrete floor, back pressed firmly against a rocky wall. I was trembling, limbs drawn close to hide my nakedness. My eyes shifted over the many corpses strewn all over the floor around me, blood pooled around the dead bodies. I shuddered harder, trying to yank my eyes off of this grisly scene._

_"Can I eat that?"_

_Startled, I turned my attention to a large, pudgy-looking man with milky-white eyes and long, gorilla-like arms. Standing behind him was a slender, curved woman with dark hair and purple eyes._

_"No," she told the man, smiling gently toward me. "Father said we're not to eat this one." I drew away from her when she started walking toward me, afraid she might try to hurt me._

_"Wha…what do you want?" I demanded weakly, aware of the terror that sounded in my cracked voice._

_"You're Envy, aren't you?"_

_My eyes widened as memory of a blonde-haired, white-robed man flooded into my mind. He had called me by that name, as well. Feeling more terrified and defensive, I tried throwing a punch at her when she knelt down calmly in front of me. She didn't even flinch when my fist made contact with the side of her face with a loud crack. A trickle of blood ran down the side of her face as she reached up to gently move my trembling hand away from her face._

_"Now, don't be like that," she said sweetly with a weak undertone of venom. "I have no intention of harming you."_

_"What do you want!?" I demanded again, the dryness in my voice replaced by a shrill tone._

_"Silly child," she cooed, caressing one side of my face with her other hand while still holding a firm yet gentle grip on my right wrist. "It's not what_ I_ want. It's what _Father_ wants." She smiled gently at my confused look, placing her hand on my shoulder tenderly. "You have nothing to be afraid of."_

_"And I won't eat you," the man supported with a childish smile, placing one hand behind his back and nibbling on the pinky on his other hand. "You'll like Father."_

_I looked between the two strange couple, feeling myself become more stable. They seemed to not want to harm me, and I didn't have anywhere to go._

_The strange-eyed woman let go of my wrist and slowly lifted me to my feet. Her smile shrank to a disapproving smirk when she looked down at my groin area. "Gluttony, give me the cloak," she ordered, holding out a hand to the strange man while turning her eyes back up to mine. "You can't be presented to Father without wearing _something_, now can you?" I moved away from the wall as she wrapped my thin body in a yellow-tan cloak, raising the hood over my head._

_"Are you ready, Envy?"_

_I looked at the man strangely, not liking what he was calling me. "That's not my name."_

_"It's what Father called you," the woman conceded, placing a calm arm around my shoulders and lightly squeezing my other shoulder. "My name's Lust, by the way."_

_"And I'm Gluttony!"_

_"Lust, Gluttony, Envy…Dante's Seven Deadly Sins?" I asked, knowing this without completely understanding why._

_"Yep," Gluttony answered, a wide smile on his face._

_I looked up at Lust's face, seeing a glimmer of approval in her eyes. "My, you're a clever one, Envy. I think you'll like Greed…one of your brothers."_

_"Brothers?"_

_"I'm one of your brothers!" the pudgy man exclaimed, waving one of his arms around excitedly._

_"And I'm your sister," the curved woman concluded, giving me a one-armed hug as we started walking along. "I'm sure you've already met Father."_

_"Yeah…" I still remembered the man, just now recalling the fact that he had purple eyes almost like Lust's. I kept my eyes trained on the ground, tightly gripping the cloak to make sure it didn't slip off my body. "Hey…do you have any special powers?"_

_"Well," she drawled, closing her eyes. "My nickname's the Ultimate Lance."_

_"And mine's the Ultimate Stomach!"_

_I looked between my two new siblings, now calm enough not to be too deeply disturbed by the corpses that still littered the streets. "I wonder what mine'll be…"_

_She smiled sweetly, gently placing her forehead against mine. "Well, stick with us and you'll see."_

**_AlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMy_**

I slowly opened my eyes, still remembering the dream I'd experienced only fifteen minutes ago. Looking around, I realized I was still trapped in the body of an eight-legged lizard with a too-large head (man, if only I still had my shifting powers...). I was sitting on a suitcase that happened to be beside a girl with copper-brown hair and wearing a dark-green shirt and blue jeans. She had apparently fallen asleep looking out the window of the train (not that I blame her, there's nothing to do on a train-ride besides talk). Looking toward the other side of the suitcase I saw a military officer with blonde hair. He was leaning back comfortably with his cap pulled down over his eyes.

Of course, I quickly realized where I was and who these people were.

_Gel, you keep resting. New Envy, ah…you're just as lazy as Sloth, sleeping like that._

Ah, I remembered what New Greed and Wrath did to me, too. Although I wanted to tear out their throats, I had no way of doing any harm to them. Pushing my plot of revenge to the back of my mind, I refocused on what may be lying out ahead.

More prison-time, most likely. I just hope that Replacement brings the food instead of that bastard Squinty-Eyes.

Slowly creeping off the suitcase and into Gel's lap, I settled beside her right hand and tried to go back to sleep. I looked up when I felt her fingers twitch and found that I had woken her.

"Envy?" she asked quietly, sleepily. "Is there something wrong?" Blue-green eyes quickly turned toward the sleeping homunculus, carefully moving herself closer to the window and as far from him as possible. "Envy, I really don't want to go back…"

_Neither do I._

"Maybe now's our best chance of escape…?"

New Envy, still in the guise of an officer, snorted and sat up straight, taking off the cap. Looking expectantly at her, he asked, "Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat, if you'd like."

She turned back to the window, placing her chin back in her left palm while stroking me gently with her right hand. "Not hungry," she said distractedly, scanning the trees that zoomed by.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said lazily, leaning back and pretending to study the ceiling. I knew he was pretending 'cause that's what I used to do back when I brought in "prisoners" from other parts of Amestris.

I settled myself further into her lap, again trying to go to sleep. We still had quite a few hours to go, and there was no reason for NE to try hurting Gel, so I felt it was safe.

_Maybe in sleep I'll see Lust again. I still miss her sorely…_

**_To Be Continued…_**


	14. Eyes of Tomorrow

**A/N:** Yay! Erm…what am I celebrating again? –looks around confusedly –

Anyway…I've a little message for a certain anonymous reviewer (for those who aren't concerned, and none of you should be, you can just skip over this part):

**Vi:** For your first review: No, stalagmites hang from the ceiling. Stalactites rise from the floor. Spikes are man-made structures, not naturally formed. For your second review: _please_ refrain from complaining. Nothing to say about your third review, I'm glad you gave an opinion.

**Q's and A's!** I'm glad you guys gave opinions, and most of you I agree with –nods enthusiastically – Now, here's a question that's kinda been bugging me: **Although there needs to be some character development, do you think I'm taking too long to give Envy back his powers?** I've been kinda thinking that, but I also think that character development is equally important. Give an honest answer!

ROLLIN', ROLLIN', ROLLIN'…WATCH THOSE PARAGRAPHS ROLLIN' ALONG! (hey, trying to be more original than "on with the show", give me a break…)

_Eyes of Tomorrow_

New Envy shifted from the military officer to his preferred form as we walked through the opening to Father's lair, carefully closing the door behind us (oh look, I can see the back of his head now. Looks like he has a rattail instead of a ponytail). Purple eyes glowing faintly in the dim lighting of the stairway, he led the way down the steps.

I saw Gel reach for a railing, pulling her hand back when she touched nothing but brick and concrete (well, I assume she touched that, 'cause there's nothing else there). She placed the tips of her fingers over my paws (it'd be kinda weird to call these things "hands", don't you think?), trembling slightly. We both heard the click of a lock when NE closed the door, so there was no chance of escape if she tried turning back around.

"Hey, you still conscious back there?" the young homunculus called out, looking over his shoulder at us. He was still carrying Gel's luggage, and although I found that kind, I also found it cruel: it meant that even if we did manage to escape from our "escort", Gel wouldn't have any clothes or money to rent a temporary home without getting that suitcase first.

I heard and felt her draw in a sharp breath, a slight shudder reverberating through her body. She didn't make any reply, though, which I found a bit odd.

NE slowed down 'till he was practically next to her, a strange almost concerned look on his face. He looked at me as he asked, "Is she _usually_ this quiet?"

_Not to me, no._

After a few seconds, he shrugged. "Should I start carrying you to make sure you're still alive?"

"N-No," she stuttered, speeding up a little. "I can walk."

He watched her contemplatively, shrugged after a bit and walked out ahead again. "Just keep talking so I know you didn't faint or anything, 'kay?"

"Okay…"

I hinted on how weak her response was, and it concerned me. I knew she was scared, but even when she was terrified her voice wasn't this weak. Well, except one instance…

My eyes widened and I felt her forehead with my tail. Although my tail was by no means very good at indicating temperature, she _definitely_ felt warm. I made contact with blue-green eyes, which didn't have the usual sharpness I was hoping for.

"I don't wanna be here," she whispered to me, petting my tail after I had lowered it. "…I kinda hope we meet with that man…"

"You mean Father?" NE chided, a smile on his face when he peered over his shoulder at us. "If you have a problem, feel free to consult with him when we get to the lair." His smile disappeared when we both heard her give a faint sigh. "Hey, you okay?" A small frown settled itself onto his face when she shook her head. "Need a ride?"

"…I'll walk…" Now, her tone had taken a drawl to it. I was getting scared that she may have fallen ill again. "…can we slow down?"

"…sure." He slowed his walk 'till he was side-by-side with her, making sure she didn't get too close to the sewer waters while simultaneously keeping an eye on her movements in general. "If you want me to carry you, let me know." Neither of us were very satisfied when she gave his "comment" a small nod.

_She's getting weaker,_ I noted to myself as I felt her muscles tighten in effort, inching closer to her neck to check her pulse. By the time I had gotten close enough to start counting, we were already in the "living room" of Father's lair.

The room looked the same as it always did: dark, shadowy walls, tables with test-tubes and other scientific equipment, and a chair with all kinds of wires attacked to it (Father wasn't sitting there, which meant he was off doing some sort of business). New Greed was lounging around, sitting on a chair he had brought down from a few floors up. Wrath was just walking in through a different entryway, looking serious as usual.

_This is _not_ going to be a very settling meeting…_

"Ah, I see you've brought Gabriella back," the Fuhrer observed, giving a sort of expectant smile at her.

"Yeah, but she's not feeling too hot," NE replied, looking at her carefully. I was uncomfortable with the fashion he was looking at her, though I appreciated the meaning behind it. "I seriously think Father should take a look at her before we get started."

"Uh-oh," I heard Squinty-Eyes start, noticing him stand up and start walking over. "She's not sick _again_, is she?" He forced his hands into his pockets when he received a shrug from the younger homunculus. "Man…"

I heard a sigh come from the fake-military leader and couldn't help but look over in his direction. The look on his face, I found, was unsettling. He looked angry, and he doesn't get angry very easily. "Our plan's already been held up long enough. We can't afford to wait much longer, you know."

"Hmm?" I looked over at NE to see what he was about to say and saw a frown I used to make when something wasn't quite making sense to me. I knew a question of some fashion was eminent. "I still don't completely get what's going on. I mean, yeah, making a Philosopher's Stone, but what else? Why is it so dang important to keep me involved when I'm of no more importance to this operation than a beetle?"

…_what kind of a question is _that_?_

Furiously, Wrath rushed at New Envy, which startled Gel into jumping and stumbling backwards a bit. Roughly grabbing the younger homunculus by the shoulders, the older demanded, "Does the term Millennial Oracle mean anything to you?"

"Should it?" asked the very surprised-looking NE, grabbing the Fuhrer by the wrists and carefully pulling his hands off of his being. "'Cause it doesn't ring any bells for me."

…_Millennial Oracle?_

For whatever reason, that title sounded incredibly familiar to me. It reached back to my farthest memories, ones that I could scarcely remember at all. Back to my first few minutes of life.

_Why does it sound so damn familiar!?_

I looked around at my former-brothers, seeking answers I knew they couldn't give. I saw the confusion written on NE's and Squinty-Eyes' faces and the seeping anger on Wrath's, but nothing that could give me any definite clues as to why the title was so familiar to me.

Thrusting the title and its possible meaning to the back of my mind, I turned my attention back to Gel. I was shocked that she looked so pale, I just now noticed that she was faintly trembling, too. It brought back memories of our escape from our prison a few short months ago…

I turned toward my replacement, hissing to get his attention. I quieted down when they turned to see what all the fuss was about and the two youngest looked alarmed while Wrath only seemed a little bit calmer (as far as anger issues are concerned).

"Gel?" NE asked cautiously, grabbing her by her arm. "You okay?"

My eyes bulged when I felt her muscles suddenly relax and I almost tumbled off her shoulder when she collapsed.

_Gel!!_

I was _soooo_ glad that New Envy caught her, carefully laying her down so that she was in a position where she could still breathe. Turning toward the others, he stated, "We need Father back _now_!"

"…I'll see if I can find him," Wrath stated simply as he turned around, walking swiftly out the way he came. New Greed knelt down on her other side as I scrambled onto her chest, making sure it was rising.

_Hold on, Gel…Father's coming…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	15. Almost Human

**A/N:** Okay.

For my last chapter's question, I'm starting to agree with you guys in me taking a tad-bit too long in giving back Envy his powers. _But_ I have other things that need to come around, which will delay the "returning point" in the story, thus also delaying the end. I appreciate your guys' patience, though! –huggles –

**Q's and A's!** Now, here's a question that correlates with your guys' reviews: **How important do you think the title **_**Millennial Oracle**_** is to the overall story?** Enough said here.

Now…ugh, I'm not even gonna bother with a catch-phrase this chapter…

_Almost Human_

It seemed like an eternity before Wrath came back with Father close behind him, but when they came I almost felt elated. Maybe that's too strong of a word, but who cares at this point?

I slowly got off of Gel's chest, hesitant in leaving her even though I knew that New Greed and New Envy were here carefully monitoring her breathing. Turning back to look at Father, who by now was kneeling down to (hopefully) heal her, I placed my tail over her arm.

He gently placed a hand on her chest, a spark of electricity shooting out and brightly illuminating the dimly lit room. He then placed his hand on her forehead with the same effect. Almost instantly her ragged breathing leveled out and I felt her muscles relax beneath my tail, which greatly relieved me.

"Think she'll _stay_ okay this time?" I heard Squinty-Eyes mutter and I just wanted to slap his head off. How _dare_ he say something so stupid!

"She'll be fine," Father replied patiently, though I didn't fail to notice the faint undertone of constricted anger (which I was thankful for in regards to the "retarded" homunculus). "Make sure she drinks some water before we begin this session." He then stood up and started walking toward his chair, picking up a manga along the way. I never understood why he liked reading those old mangas, anyway. And I think the large majority of them were humor, too. Anybody else find that a surprise?

The homunculus in the body of a human got up and started heading out the way Wrath came in, probable to fetch a glass of water for when Gel woke up.

_If you poison the water, you're dead._

I stiffened when I felt fingers lightly wrap around my body, looking around as I realized I was being lifted into the air by my replacement.

_What the hell do you want!?_

He lightly cocked an eyebrow at me and one corner of his mouth lifted a bit, though I wouldn't necessarily call it a smirk. "Hey, relax. I'm not gonna eat you or anything." He turned me around in his hand, which agitated me even though I was aware that he was taking a full inspection of my body. "You've got a weird composition, don't ya? Don't think you're a Chimera, though, you seem too smart to be one of _those_."

We both looked in the direction of a soft moan and realized that Gel was waking up.

_Thank god! Are you okay?_

Setting me down, NE helped her sit up. "Welcome back. How do you feel?"

She looked at him oddly, the clarity in her eyes relieving me. "'Welcome back'? I don't remember leaving." A light frown settled onto her features when he laughed humorously.

"You passed out," he said in response, smiling curiously at her. "I meant 'Welcome back to consciousness'." He giggled at her confused look, though I didn't see what was so funny about the situation.

"Well," New Greed's voice said as he walked in with a glass of water in his hands (weird, I didn't hear any water running through the pipes overhead...), "Now that she's apparently awake, why don't we get started?" He looked expectantly in Father's direction after he handed the glass of water to Gel.

"Fully agreed." Well, of course Wrath was going to support this statement. He was the one throwing a temper about the session being late earlier, so we all knew what he was wanting to take place. "Father, shall we start?"

"You don't need my permission to start, you know," Father replied, giving a small wave and putting the manga he was reading away. That was a clear "yes".

Gel took me out of NE's hand and set me on her lap, gently stroking the top of my head with the tip of her index finger. "I have a question…why do you guys need me? You seem perfectly capable of doing stuff without me," she said curiously, looking around at all the males in the room.

"That's what this session's about," the youngest in the room whispered to her, another wry smirk on his face (though it quickly disappeared after he lowered his hand from the side of his mouth).

"…oh."

_Don't feel embarrassed, Gel. We all have our moments._

She sipped on the water, holding the glass reverently as Wrath stepped forward.

"Miss Gabriella Mizou," he started, looking down at her expectantly. "I understand your mother was studying alchemy, correct?" She nodded. "I also understand that she was trying to teach you and your brother Daniel alchemy."

"I didn't understand very much of it, though."

Father leaned forward from his position, placing his chin in his right palm. "Tell us what you understand."

"Well…" she drawled, looking at her glass then at me. I shrugged, which made her frown just a little bit. "I understand that, for alchemy to be used, there usually needs to be a transmutation circle. A transmutation circle is, well, obviously a circle, but with equations inside of it. There are different equations and patterns, depending on what type of alchemy you intend to use." She paused for a second to sip some more water, looking at Father more directly. "But before you start using transmutation circles, you have to know the composition of the item you're wanting to use alchemy on. For instance, the elements in lead to turn into gold or grass to turn into bread." She looked down at me, looking rather sorry. "…that's about as much as I know."

"Oh," Squinty-Eyes said with a tone I didn't agree with. "So you don't know how to use transmutation circles? What a shame."

"I do," she replied defensively, giving her accuser a hard, almost angry look. "They're just really simple, basic circles. I don't see how they'd be of any use to you guys, though," she added in a calmer tone, though she didn't seem to trust them as well as she did earlier.

Father sighed, leaning back into his chair with a look that could almost be described as longing. "If only we still had the Millennial Oracle…"

I was vaguely aware of New Envy stiffening a bit, almost instantly realizing that he was referring, somehow, to me. Well, I knew that that title was important and it had something to do with my creation, but…

_Dammit, why can't I remember!?_

Feeling outright frustrated, I burrowed as deep as I could into Gel's lap for comfort (though, now that I think about it, I don't understand how I was expecting to gain comfort from this action). She gently stroked my back, which sorta helped me calm down.

"So…" New Greed drawled, looking between Father and the Fuhrer. "What do we do now?"

"We need to find the girl's mother, somehow," Wrath stated, though his last word didn't seem to bring much comfort to the rest of us. Turning toward her, he asked, "Do you know where she might be?"

I looked up to see her shaking her head and was vaguely aware of tears in her eyes. I guessed NE took notice of this, too, 'cause he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Greeeaaat…"

I glared at the bastard homunculus who was formerly known as Ling, twelfth son of the Emperor of Xing. What was _his_ problem, anyway? I didn't see any reason for there to be any hurry in creating a new Philosopher's Stone (even though it'd provide me with more souls so that I could resume my human form), and therefore he shouldn't be complaining.

I noticed a contemplative look pass over Father's features out of the corner of my eye, my curiosity getting the better of me as I looked at him more directly.

"We'll keep her here," he said calmly with a tone that was almost suggestive (like he was suggesting the idea rather than ordering it to be so). "Envy, would you like to take responsibility of her?" He nodded when his youngest "son" gave a rather enthusiastic "Yes". "Make sure she eats, and let's see if there are any other rooms beside the one we kept Marcoh in."

New Envy nodded and gently helped Gel to her feet, placing me on her shoulder as he was doing so. "Anything you'd like? And don't try telling me you're not hungry again, it won't work."

_Well…at least one "wish" was granted: you'll be the one in charge of her well-being._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	16. Eventful Disasters

**A/N:** Hmmm…seems like there was a little bit of confusion with my last question. And also, since it was merely an opinion question, I won't give the "answer" (seeing as one technically doesn't exist). Just one thing I want to say: _Millennial Oracle_ and _Millennium Crystal_ are two _COMPLETELY_ different things. You'll better understand what I mean in later chapters.

On to more important things…

This chapter will take place a few days after Gel and Envy had been recaptured by Father and his "children". I can almost guarantee you guys that you'll be on the edge of your seats at the end of this chapter (at least…I hope that's an absolute guarantee…). Am I forgetting anything? Oh yeah…

**Q's and A's!** Here's a question that's been pretty much haunting me since my very first entry of this story: **Is this the only fanfic about Envy that stems from the manga rather than the anime?** I couldn't help but notice… -looks around with shifty eyes-

Let's get rolling! Pft, why do I even bother with catch-phrases anymore…?

_Eventful Disasters_

I instantly latched myself to Gel's shirt when she placed me on her shoulder, feeling a bit tense.

Okay…you want me to explain what's going on, don't you? Fine…

Over the past several days, Gel has been plotting our next daring escape (I would almost include myself in the whole "plotting session", except I can't talk to her, so…well, you know). While reviewing what we could do, she would start playfully asking New Envy questions about what was around the room we were being kept in. Luckily, he's on the naïve side and doesn't take her "spy's questionnaire" seriously and therefore gives her answers. From what we've collected from him, we're in a room that is across from a close exit. Good news, right? Wrong. Between this room and freedom is the Array that Father plans on using to create the next Philosopher's Stone. Why we were moved so close to such a location, I still haven't been able to figure out.

Anyway…we were just getting ready to try getting out. She had already gotten Replacement to accidentally tell her that he never kept the door locked, so that wasn't much of an obstacle. The only tough part was going across a long, wide room without being spotted 'cause there were sure to be Guards (there were the last several times we set locations for our Philosopher's Stone "manufacturing plants").

Blue-green eyes turned toward me as she wrapped her hand around the doorknob, shoulders hunched forward in a "creeping" fashion. "Ready, Envy?" she asked in a whisper as if she were expecting someone to be listening from the other side. She smirked in satisfaction when I nodded, looking through the crack she made in the door to see if anyone was about. "Coast is clear. Do you sense anything?"

_So far, nothing. For now, it's safe to venture out._

She seemed to pick up on my thoughts and slowly opened the door wide enough for her to slip on through.

Oh yeah, I kinda forgot to mention…Gel and I seemed to have developed this sort of "connection" that allows her to understand what I'm trying to tell her without having to be in physical contact with me or even looking at me. It's really quite useful, although sometimes she misinterprets what I'm trying to tell her. So far, there haven't been any huge or otherwise serious consequences.

Quietly closing the door behind her, she started to creep along the wall instead of directly walking down the center length of the room like I had anticipated her doing. I was impressed by her methods, though I was a bit worried about what may happen if she were caught and cornered by a Guard.

_Don't think about that, Envy. We'll get out of here._

I sensed some movement from a nearby hallway and stiffened, telling her that someone (or something) was coming. She stopped, looking toward the hallway as well.

New Envy walked into the poorly-lit room, stopping at the center of the Array and inspecting the equations and overall design of the transmutation circle. "Pretty close to how Father had it imaged in his head, I guess, but…" His already-low voice dropped too low for me to hear what the rest of his sentence was, but I definitely noticed that he shook his head. Rubbing his heel against a particular design of a lion swallowing a sphere, he turned back around and strode out of the room, pausing long enough to give the door Gel and I had come out of a contemplative look and a shrug.

When I was sure that he was far away enough for him not to hear Gel's movements, I swished my tail to the right so I wouldn't accidentally lash her back. She started moving after my little signal, inching closer to the exit.

Suddenly, without me being aware of it's presence, a bird-like Guard swooped down and tried to peck at her head. I was _so_ glad that she didn't shriek in terror when it attacked, instead raising an arm to protect her face from its sharp beak and raking claws. I nipped at one of its talons and it flew a short distance, hissing in annoyance.

_I'm pretty pissed off at you, too!_

"Is it gonna try to attack again?" she whispered to me, though I didn't fail to notice the albeit low shrill note in her voice. She gave a soundless sigh when I shook my head at her, speeding up her process because of the Guard's presence. Not that I blamed her, though. I'd be a bit freaked out if a giant bird came by to peck out my brain, too (though I could always fight it off before I lost my powers).

The strange bird, colored red, orange and black, flapped its wings and was gone, making pitiful squawking noises while taking its leave.

_What's up with that Guard?_

I looked at the Array, hearing a strange clanking sound and saw small trapdoors swing open and people, bound in ropes and locks, being raised on platforms. The great majority of them were males, though I noticed a woman or two. I looked at Gel, hoping that she didn't recognize any of these people as her parents. Although she seemed clearly startled and overall shocked by their appearance, she didn't seem to recognize the people there, so I relaxed as much as I dared to in our situation.

Peering back toward the bound humans arranged on the Array, I couldn't help but recognize a familiar voice amongst the groaning and muffled yells for help (oh yeah…their mouths were covered and likely stuffed with old socks so none of them could talk coherently). My eyes widened when I saw someone I hadn't expected to see in a long while.

_Doctor Marcoh!?_

Sure enough, bound on the far side of the Array and pretty much out of easy reach of Gel was Doctor Marcoh, the alchemist who had helped my create a new Philosopher's Stone during the Ishvar Rebellion. The scars on his face outright shocked me, the lines and deep wrinkles that weren't there last we met a deep concern to me. Did Scar do that to him when he took him out of Father's lair? More importantly…why the hell was he bound up and placed on the Array? Was I the only one aware that he was far too important to be put inside a Philosopher's Stone!?

Gel seemed to pick up on my alarm 'cause I felt her gently stroke my back in an attempt to calm me down. She was still trembling herself, which touched me that she wanted to calm me down when she herself needed some comfort. Wait…did I just say she touched me? Man, I'm becoming more human every second I stick with her… "What's wrong? Do you recognize someone over there?"

_Yes! And he shouldn't be on this Array_ at all_!!_

I looked at her just as she was looking away from me and over toward the Sacrifices, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to possibly identify one of the people in the dim lighting of the room. Looking around her to see if anyone was coming (and I didn't sense anyone coming so far, though she didn't need my confirmation to venture further out into the open), she started to slowly walk toward one of the closer Sacrifices, kneeling by the obviously frightened man. "Don't worry," she whispered to him, fumbling with the rope that bound his hands behind his back. "I'm getting you out of here."

I strange feeling enveloped me and I instinctively looked down at the Array that was now beneath us. I recognized this sensation from when I had been trapped into this pathetic excuse of a body, and it frightened me.

_Gel, get off of the Array!!_

She paused long enough to look at me when I dug my claws into her shoulder before a bright light illuminated off of the lines of the Array and setting the whole room alight. I felt myself tumble off of her shoulder as she collapsed, instantly trying to get up and return to Gel.

A new sensation enveloped my being, and I felt my fractured Philosopher's Stone reacting to the Array. I knew instantly that it was drawing all the souls toward it. The one thing I had been dreaming of was turning into one of my worst nightmares.

_No! Stop! GEL!!_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	17. Desperation and Loss

**A/N:** Hmmm…didn't get as big of a reaction as I was wanting, but oh well, I didn't start writing for popularity purposes (though that _is_ a pretty good motivator, I'll admit).

**Fact!** This was one of the first scenes that played out in my head before I even set out to start this fic, so it should come out pretty smoothly. It was also accompanied by a song, though it works better for a scene that'll come around later (maybe).

**Q's and A's!** Okay, this is a question I randomly picked out off the top of my head without too much thought: **Does the Envy/Gel pair work for you guys?** If you answer "no", then I really don't know why any of you would continue reading this past chapter four. Just saying, though…

Okay…now the song "Saving Me" by Nickelback is playing through my head. Is that some sort of indicator…?

_Desperation and Loss_

The light increased too much for me to see, but the sensation…this instinct, grew stronger. I closed my eyes, somehow trying to will the souls not to be absorbed.

_Stop…absorbing…_

"Envy…?"

I snapped my eyes open at the sound of Gel's frightened voice, stiffening in shock when I saw what was in front of me.

"What…what are The Gates doing here!?"

I froze, startled to hear my own voice. Wait…my voice…?

I looked down and saw hands…_human_ hands…and a _human_ body. _My_ body!

I stared down at it, shocked and delighted at the same time. The shock increased and the delight decreased dramatically when I noticed the glowing forms of ribbon-like souls flying toward me and entering my chest. Slightly panicked, I tried to block their entry with my hands…but they went through.

"Dammit…!"

Suddenly angry, I glared up at The Gates and started pounding a fist against them. "Open up! Let these guys through!"

Nothing happened, of course. But I kicked at them forcefully anyway.

_Why now? Why with Gel on the line!?_

"Envy!?"

I whirled around to see Gel, not in spirit form, but with her body. Was she using alchemy to protect herself from the Array?

She looked terrified, blue-green eyes fixated fearfully on The Gates. I noticed that she was faintly trembling, too.

I figured I would've frightened her anyway, but I was not expecting her to pull back with a punch when I went over to her. "Gel! Get away from here!"

She paused, eyeing me strangely. "…what?"

"You heard me!" I heard myself yell, immediately regretting my outburst. _Okay…keep a more calm tone with her, Envy._ "Get away from here –"

My sentence was cut off as _something_ shifted, causing the white space to turn a golden-yellow color. I felt my chest constrict and realized that the souls were pouring out of me.

"What's happening? Why are lights coming out of your chest!?" she shrieked, blue-green eyes widened in terrified horror. She pulled away from me, trembling so forcefully I was half-surprised that her legs didn't collapse under her.

"The souls are leaving," I answered, feeling calmer knowing that Gel was no longer in danger of being sucked into me.

"The what are going where!?"

"The souls are going back to where they belong: their bodies."

She stared up at me, a look of what might be described as awe on her face. I guess she was surprised at my suddenly calm voice (and quite honestly, it surprised me, too). Giving The Gates behind me an uncertain look, she muttered, "What _is_ that?"

"The…Gates…"

I shook my head violently, trying to rid myself of this sudden pain that hit me forcefully. Staggering backward a little, I suddenly looked up and saw a ribbon of images flying high above us. Most of them, I knew were from my memories. Some of them…

I looked back down sharply at Gel, a sudden drive to get her out of here taking hold of me. "Gel, you need to go _now_."

"What about you?" she asked, and judging by the hurriedness of her question, I could well tell that it was an instinctive question. God, she was such a sweet girl…

"Forget me," I said a little too quickly, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a small push. "Get away from here! Go back to Amestris and warn Fullmetal!"

"You're coming, too," she said determidly, grabbing my left wrist and getting ready to turn when the pain seized me again, this time much more forcefully. "What's wrong?" she asked in alarm when she felt me shudder, worry in her young eyes.

"Just…" I felt my throat tighten and I couldn't finish my sentence, a weakness enveloping me. It was about that time that I realized my Philosopher's Stone was nearly depleted of souls, and that meant soon I was going to possibly revert back to that lizard-like form.

"Hey!" She grabbled onto my forearms this time, my knees giving way beneath me. "Hold on, 'kay?"

"Would you just forget about me!?" I yelled, pushing her away and forcing myself back to my feet. "Leave and…and warn Fullmetal and the Colonel!"

I saw conflict in her eyes, and I knew she was fighting with herself on whether she should obey my orders or try to help me get away from this place. "But…why…?"

"Why what!?"

"Why should I leave you behind?"

"Because," a cold voice replied from behind me, the tone making my spine shiver, "I can't allow him to leave."

Turning my head to look back, I saw a humanoid form. I mean, it was more of an outline of a person than anything else. It didn't have any defining characteristics, such as eyes, a nose or anything, not even clothes or fingers. Even though this was the first time I had ever confronted this thing, I knew what it was.

"What do you want from him!?" I heard Gel demand, the shrillness of her voice concerning me.

Almost instinctively, I moved closer to her. Turning toward her viciously, I growled, "Just _leave_ already!" I was ashamed to have ever used such a hard, cold tone with her, but I felt it was necessary to provoke her into going back to safety.

"Why do you want me to leave so badly!?"

Although the pain had never left, I definitely noted the sharpness of it in my chest. It was like my Philosopher's Stone was cracking inside of me, though I knew such a thing was impossible. Without thinking or even being aware that I was going to say such words, I yelled, "I already lost Lust and Gluttony, I can't lose you too!" Grabbing her by the shoulders, the burning in my eyes intensifying, I said in a lower voice, "Please, Gel…go to where it's safe."

A certain tenderness came into her blue-green eyes, a soft expression on her face. "You're the first Envy," she said softly, placing one of her hands on my right one. "You're the only one who ever gave me those eyes…"

I felt something wrap around my mid-section and looked down to realize the specter-like creature's arms were holding fast to me. Looking up hurriedly at my dearest friend, I gave her a final shove and let go.

Her eyes widened as she floated away, apparently being pulled by some force. "Envy!" she screamed, reaching out toward me desperately. "C'mon! Don't leave me!"

"I would never leave you," I lied to her, watching the tears sliding down her cheeks. "Just wait…I'll be right there."

God, it hurt so much it was unbearable. I closed my eyes slowly as her fading voice cried out my name one last time before there was silence.

_Be safe, Gel._

_**To Be Continued…?**_


	18. Return to Sadness

**A/N:** You guys wanna know a secret about the last chapter? The first few dozen times that scene played through my head, I almost cried. So, if any of you felt the same reading it, I can totally sympathize with you.

Oh, and before I forget: one of my brothers is planning a sleep-over at our house (he's barely 11, so…). Because his friend loves the computer, it's doubtful that I'll be able to update tomorrow. So…if I don't, you know the reason why.

**Q's and A's!** Wow, I'm glad that a lot of you guys really support the Gel/Envy pair (notice I said "pair", as in "friends". They're not exactly a couple…yet). Now, for this chapter's question: **If you hadn't checked if I had placed this in the **_**Completed**_** category, would you have believed that the last chapter was the end of the story?** Wow, I think this is the longest question I've ever placed on FanFiction! Oh well.

**Warning!** Character death toward the end of the chapter. You have been warned.

_Return to Sadness_

So, here I am, back in my human body. But in the process, I lost my only real friend Gel.

"_Equivalent Exchange", huh? You scientists really know how to come up with bullshit._

What was the use in trading friendship with…?

"Gagh, I'm such a _dumbass_!!"

What was I thinking I'd get if I got my body back!? I'm stuck in a parallel dimension in front of The Gates. On top of that, I had no clue how I'd be able to get out!

No, that wasn't the top of the list; _this_ is: my Philosopher's Stone still contained a few souls. Maybe if it would release them, I'd be able to escape somehow…

"Now, don't go trying to plot your way out of here."

"Shut up…"

Oh yeah, this specter was still here. The World, as we all know it. Man, it was getting on my nerves with its chit-chatter.

Great, sounds like it's gonna start up again. Damn, I hate it when it laughs like that…

"Do you think that you'll be able to escape? Unless you can give me some sort of passage fee, I won't allow you to leave."

An idea struck me and I turned my head toward the colorless specter (okay, it was a faintly transparent white, happy now?). "…what kind of passage fee? Do you care what it is?" Although I already knew the answer, I wanted to verify it.

Something materialized onto the head and I recognized it as a humorless smirk. "As long as it's something valuable, I don't care what it is."

Looking down at myself, my chest, I…sorta, felt bad about what I was about to propose. _Sorry, soul-guys…_ "Well, here's something extremely valuable I have: human souls." I cautiously started walking toward it while tearing my own chest open. Don't start puking or anything, I was just showing it my Philosopher's Stone, however puny it was.

The World seemed deeply interested, reaching a hand toward it. Sucking out all but one soul, it pulled back the mass of swirling lights with a large grin on its face. "Alright then, Ancient Mortal" –okay, what did _that_ mean? I'm not _that_ old –"you may go back, now." With a wave of its hand, I was sucked backward in the direction that Gel had been sucked toward, at the same time recognizing the sensation that meant I was being forced back into that lizard-like body.

Then, the white-and-gold light faded and there was black. Well, I assumed it was black, but after I blinked several times, I realized I was back on the Array in Father's lair.

Sudden alarm for Gel came over me and I looked around frantically for her. I found her lying there and hurried over to her. Wait…I don't remember having this much mobility before…

She moaned softly when I clambered onto her arm, blue-green eyes opening slowly. "Envy?" Her eyes turned toward me as she started to gently stroke my scaly back.

"Are you okay?"

We both froze, startled.

_Did I just…?_

"Envy!" She sat up quickly, holding my slightly-larger body up like a prize puppy and smiling. "You can talk now!"

I stared at her for a moment, threw my head back and just laughed. Man, I was so happy just being with her…and I can actually _talk_ with her now! I didn't think anything could ruin this moment, and apparently neither did Gel for she was hugging me and laughing, too.

Cradling me like a baby (though I didn't mind in the least at the moment), she stood up and looked around.

"What's wrong?" I asked when I felt her body stiffen and her breath halt, two signs of something gone wrong.

"…Ed…?"

Her voice was so soft, I almost missed what she said. But when I did figure out what she said, she had already started walking slowly toward a limp form nearest the exit.

I looked over and realized that it really _was_ Edward.

_What's he doing here…?_

Now close enough to his body, she slowly got down on her knees and tried to roll him onto his back. I pushed on his chest to help, though he nearly swatted me with his human hand (luckily it wasn't his automail arm).

"Ed?" she asked gently, worriedly. Her frame slumped forward slightly in relief when he opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

"I…I think so," he answered, though there was no way of missing the strain in his voice. There was a bit of blood around his body, too, so I already figured he was in pain. "Is…is Envy here, too?"

"You bet, kid." He turned his head toward me, looking a bit surprised. "What? Aren't you happy to see me?"

A small smile crossed his lips as he answered, "Actually…yeah, I am." Looking back at Gel, he asked, "How about you? Are you two okay?"

She nodded, placing a hand on his chest. I think she could sense him getting weaker. "Yeah. I'm okay."

His muscles tightened and I figured he was trying to sit up.

_Don't bother, kiddo. You're not gonna last long._

I wouldn't dare say these thoughts out loud for fear of frightening Gel. It didn't matter, though, 'cause the dimness in his eyes was scaring her. Not that I blame her, I was worried too.

"Gel…could you…"

She leaned closer, trying to hear him better. "What do you want me to do?" she asked softly, trying to mask the trembling in her voice.

"Tell Al that…I'm sorry. I…couldn't keep my promise…"

It was sad to watch him pass on, but it hurt to see the pain in her eyes when he finally went completely limp. Tears were collecting in those blue-green orbs and her body was shaking.

"Gel…" I whispered, wanting to comfort her.

But then I sensed two people come into the room in a hurry, stopping dead in their tracks when, I assume, they saw us.

"Dammit," I heard New Envy's voice curse, a panicky tremble in it. "What's Gel doing out here?"

"Hey, that's Fullmetal Elric!" came New Greed's reply, his voice startled. "Damn, did he just die!?"

"Oh, man…" NE sounded frightened, probably thinking about what Father might do to them if he found out they hadn't tried to rescue one of their most precious Sacrifices. "What do we do…?"

A sigh answered the question as footsteps started walking toward us again, Squinty-Eyes stopping right next to Gel and kneeling down next to her. "Well…I think a burial is in order…"

I went straight to Gel and cuddled next to her as tears streamed down her face.

_Goodbye, Fullmetal Edward Elric…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	19. Catch Without Arms

**A/N:** Dude, I almost started crying at the end of last chapter, too. I mean, he was my fav FMA character long before I started liking Envy, so…

But I had to do it. If you want an explanation as to why, let me know in your reviews and I'll give you the answers (though they'll be kinda spoiler-ish).

I almost didn't get to get on the computer today, but I talked with all of my brothers and they decided to let me on about 3 hrs before their friend arrives, so here I am!

**Q's and A's!** Wow, most of you knew that the "ending" from two chapters ago wasn't real! Yay! Okay, so here's the one for this chapter: **Are you still willing to read this story knowing that Ed's not likely to ever appear in this story again?** It's a serious question, and I'd appreciate your honesty.

Don't really have anything else to say, so…

_Catch Without Arms_

So it's been about a month since Ed's death. I know I went a bit fast and didn't explain much, so I'll tell you how it all happened (from what Al and Mustang could tell Gel and I): Ed had suspicions of Father creating a new Philosopher's Stone and decided to embark on a quest by himself to see if he could stop the operation. By the time he had gotten there, the Array was already taking effect. He tried to stop it by reversing the effects of the Array, pulling all the souls from the Philosopher's Stone in my chest and placing them back into the Sacrifices. Of course, no one can forget the passage fee for opening The Gates. So…guess what Ed had to lose.

So, by sacrificing himself, Father lost an alchemist that he was planning on using to create a Philosopher's Stone. Not to mention Al lost the last of his family and Mustang lost a subordinate. So now Gel needs to learn alchemy or be destroyed for "knowing too much".

Gel and I were released from Father's "prison", but we were closely monitored by both New Envy and New Greed (I could do without the last, but the first guy's pretty nice toward Gel). Currently, we were in the Military's library, both of us trying to look through alchemy books.

I looked up toward her, already knowing that she was struggling to concentrate. Fullmetal's death really hit her hard, and often times she'd cry herself to sleep. I understood how she felt, though I couldn't say I ever cried myself to sleep (I _couldn't_ sleep after Lust's death, it was an impossibility for a good couple of months).

"…wanna take a break?"

Faded blue-green eyes turned toward me, blank. "Huh? Oh…sure." She placed a marker in the book before closing it, holding it up to her chest almost like a band-aid. Standing up, she put the leash back on my collar (it was Squinty-Eye's suggestion that I go around like a pet so people wouldn't freak out about a giant, mutant-looking lizard walking around the streets. Also, I was about the size of a smallish, almost medium-sized dog now, so I couldn't be perched on her shoulder anymore). "Let's go back to the hotel for awhile."

I walked beside her, easily keeping pace with her slow trudging. We checked out the two books we were looking at and started heading back to our lodgings.

She took the leash off of me as soon as we entered our hotel room, placing it on the counter and sitting on the bed. "Envy…can I tell you something?"

"Sure," I shrugged, leaping onto the bed and settling myself beside her. "What is it?" I was careful to keep my tone gentle and considerate, 'cause…well, I didn't want her to feel that I didn't care.

"It…it's a little personal."

"Go on."

She placed a trembling hand on my upper back between my shoulder blades, messing with the blue-purple collar around my neck. "Back at…The Gates…you said something about having lost someone. Lust and Gluttony, right?"

A twang of pain struck at my chest, though I restrained myself from shuddering. "Yes. They were my siblings."

"Were you close to them?"

I looked into crystalline blue-green eyes, understanding that she was trying to let her feelings out in a somewhat indirect way. Placing a paw on her thigh gently, I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I was."

Her voice was trembling again now, tears in her eyes. "What happened to them…?"

I looked down at the carpeted floor, a seeping anger filling me. "Mustang murdered Lust," answered in a low, restricted voice, trying not to sound angry (though the impression was still there). "And when Gluttony tried to avenge her death…" I shook my head, unable to continue. _Damn, I still wanna kill that bastard Colonel with my own two hands…!_

She gently stroked the back of my head and I looked back up at her, noticing the small tear trickling down the side of her face. "It…it's okay, Envy," she whispered, obviously struggling not to cry. "I'm sure they're in a better place."

_Assuming we homunculi go anywhere in the Afterlife._

That thought struck me suddenly and I turned my eyes away from her. Did we, humans and homunculi, go to the same place after we died? Or is it really over when a homunculus dies while a human soul goes on?

This subject made me depressed, 'cause it meant that I'd never see her again if she died before or after I did. Forcing the thought to the back of my mind, I leaned against her side, placing my head on her lap.

"Do you think…_he_'s happy up there…?"

I looked up at her cautiously, unsure of how to answer. "…I'm sure he is," I lied, carefully monitoring the way I answered her question. I forced myself to loosen as she hugged me, obviously desperate for comfort. I rubbed the side of my face against her's as gently as possible, purring softly. "It's okay…"

After about an hour (I looked at the clock a couple of times, not that I didn't want to comfort her or anything, I just didn't want to spend too much time not studying so Father wouldn't have a reason to try destroying her), she calmed down and let go of me, rubbing a smooth spot behind my lower jaw. It felt really good, so of course I started purring a little (don't give me that look, you'd be purring, too!).

"Envy…"

I turned my gaze toward her, gently pressing my reptilian muzzle against her arm. "Yeah?"

"Also, back at The Gate…I saw something."

"What is it?" I didn't like the glimmer in her eyes, it was so close to fear it worried me. "Was it something bad?"

"I don't know," she answered reproachfully, looking toward the window. "It was just…a little scary."

"Want to tell me?"

Slowly nodding her head, she looked down at the carpeted floor. "It was in a dark room, and there were people. People with dark skin and bright violet eyes, similar to yours." She leaned back a little, not seeming to be looking at anything in particular anymore. "They were chanting and doing some sort of ritual, saying something about a Millennial Oracle. Anyway, the chief stepped up to this pedestal-like thing and cut his arm over it. There was a flash and a large transmutation circle-like design lighted up. When the glow faded, there was this big creature. It looked a lot like you, only larger than a building and it had weird designs on its forehead and shoulders. I think it had a black mane, too."

I guessed I kinda blanked out, 'cause when I snapped out of a "memory" she was starting at me strangely.

"Are you okay, Envy?"

"Yeah," I answered hesitantly, shaking my head and blinking furiously. _What's going on…?_ "I'm fine." Slipping off the bed and tapping the library books with one of my claws, I said to her, "Let's get back to work."

_That…almost felt like a memory…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	20. Smile Like You Mean It

**A/N:** Wow…on earlier than usual. Oh well…

**Q's and A's!** I'm glad a number of you are still willing to read, although I know some of you probably don't want to anymore. Anyway, here's the question: **Do you want me to stop asking questions on each chapter?** I'm getting kinda bored with doing it, and I'm interested in what you guys have to say about it.

Moving on…

_Smile Like You Mean It_

"Okay, all clear," I told Gel, creeping away from the opening to our temporary hide-out. I didn't look at her, though, 'cause I already knew what she was going to do.

"You know," she started, the sounds of buttons snapping telling me that she was taking off her work clothes, "I hate having to dress like a boy." I heard a faint moan as she removed the thick, leathery "chest plate" from her…well, you know, right?

"I'm not liking it, either," I told her, curling a little bit to give her more room to move around and put on her jeans. "But I can't exactly work, so…"

"Yeah, yeah," she said with a mild hint of sarcasm, petting the back of my head in a way of telling me that she was done with her "transformation". "Well…we could always say you came from a circus."

"Pft, yeah right." I lifted my head to look into her maroon eyes, though her face was upside-down to me. "_Cirque de Freak_, right? Like anyone would believe _that_," and I tapped her legs with my tail playfully.

She sighed exaggeratedly, giving me a small smirk. "Well…at least I'm getting money so we can continue studying alchemy," she said in a low tone as if to try preserving some sort of reverence for the science. "And without _them_ breathing down our necks, too."

I nodded, walking over to the little stack of books about alchemic research.

I should probably explain a few things now, shouldn't I? Alright, then.

About two years ago, Gel and I finally managed to get Father to lose our trail (which took an additional two years to begin with), so now we're pretty much roaming the country and getting whatever jobs were offered to us. Father was a bit relentless in his search for Gel and me, so we eventually had to resort to cutting her hair and dressing her up like a boy (damn, and puberty had to come along…). It was only when we were alone like this that she would ever allow herself to dress like a girl again. We still studied alchemy, of course, but only because we wanted to see if there was anything written about defeating homunculi with alchemy.

"So…where were we again?" she asked, picking up a volume and shuffling through the pages.

There were footsteps outside our little concrete tent and we both froze. It stopped just in front of the opening, though the person (or people, as it turned out to be) didn't seem to notice it.

"Where'd he go?" a teenage boy asked, leaning against the concrete with an agitated sigh. "He couldn't forget about the big meeting today."

"He probably did," the man accompanying him replied with a light sigh, playing with a cigarette in his hand. "Gill's got more than one job, you know. Probably running around to get as much money as he can, not that I blame him with the way the economy's been, lately."

From what I could tell of their shadows, the teenager folded his arms. "Well, maybe he could quit his other jobs; I think he's probably better at this one than any of his other ones and the company needs his ingenuity."

The older male shrugged, which made me wonder if he was of the same opinion or just simply trying to make his co-worker relax. "Well…let's get going without him. I'm sure he'll show up when he remembers."

When they were gone, Gel slammed a fist down on the concrete, which almost made me jump. "Fuck, I completely forgot!" Glaring daggers at her work uniform, she grudgingly picked up the clothes with one hand and turned my head with her other one. "Man…"

"If you don't wanna go," I started, trudging to a nearby corner and sticking my snout into it, though there was nothing interesting about it, "Just don't."

"If I don't go, I won't get paid," she said through gritted teeth, and it amazed me how she managed to tolerate such a low-wage job with little-to-no-complaint. "And if I don't get paid, we can't get food."

I sighed and almost started sneezing as my breath blew dust up my nostrils. Coughing instead, I backed out of the corner but didn't turn back around to look at Gel. "I still don't get…why you won't just let me hunt," I muttered through coughs, rubbing my nose hoping that somehow this action would relieve some of the irritation.

"I'm not eating anything that was caught off the streets," she retorted, a weak undertone of humor in it to relieve the mild sting of her words. "If we were living out in the woods, it'd be different." She rubbed the top of my head with her knuckles playfully, preparing to leave. I saw her pause out of the corner of my eye, stiffening slightly when she gave me a small hug. "Be back as soon as I can," she promised, kissing the top of my head before leaving.

I watched her go, wondering how she could still keep some of her childishness hidden so well inside that tomboy attitude of hers. She wasn't the same sniveling little girl I had met about six years ago, that's for sure, but she still held some innocence in her.

She was also much more intelligent, too. I guess that comes with age anyway, but she exceeded most expectations and almost reaching levels…

I sighed, trying to settle myself on the floor that was blanketed by a cloth to make it more comfortable. _Wow…I guess I really _was_ affected by his death, too._

It was still unsettling to think about, so I usually tried not to. Instead, I focused on…well, anything that happened to be abuzz, I guess.

Briggs being rebuilt, Central gaining some control on the war that's still raging from the time Gel and I had first been imprisoned, the boys at the factory Gel worked at…

Hmmm…speaking of those boys…

The one that had come by a little earlier? Yeah, his name's John Fax. From what Gel's told me, he sounds like a cynical boy with a sarcastic remark to almost everything. I don't think I've ever heard about that boy smiling, except maybe once when Gel had messed up something that was "obvious" in the job ("Didn't laugh, just gave a smug little smirk" were her words from her first day of work). If anything, he sounded like a younger version of the Colonel (wow, I'm amazed he didn't move up ranks…guess Wrath has a good hold on him or something).

There were others, of course. Jason Smith, Arnold and Harold Heisenhower (twins), and I don't recall any of the other boys' names. For the most part, she talks about John.

It concerned me, though. I mean, with the way he treats her…and even if he did decide he liked her (as a friend), would that really be better than the "relationship" they have now? Ever since she started hanging with him at lunch and trying to take working shifts with him, she's…well, kinda drifted. I mean, I appreciate that she still takes care of me and visits me regularly, but she stopped renting hotel rooms ("too expensive," she says) and started spending more time with him. And when she wasn't talking about alchemy or how she didn't like having to hide herself to work, she was talking about _him_. She was starting to pick up some of his personality traits, as well (the cynical sarcasm part).

_Gagh, get a hold of yourself, Envy! She wouldn't dare do anything reckless with a boy like him._

Although I wanted to believe this thought, a lot was pointing toward something bad happening. And although I didn't want to lose her, I had to realize that she wasn't mine to keep. I mean, a homunculus, trying to keep a human to himself? Is that really fair to the human, who has a far shorter lifespan than the homunculus?

I shook my head, peeking my head out into the fading sunlight and sniffing the air. Most people had already returned home from work if they didn't already have a meeting, so I wasn't worried about being seen. And it wasn't anything to worry about if a dog or a cat found me, I could easily shut one of those up…permanently, if necessary.

Really forcing myself to settle down this time, I looked up at the blue-violet sky, thinking that I hadn't seen her give me a genuine smile in over two years.

_Seriously, Gel…when you smile, smile like you mean it._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	21. Suicidal Tendencies

**A/N:** Alrighty…

Well, to start with, I was seriously contemplating on just skipping the _Q's and A's_ for this chapter, but a pretty good one struck my mind and I couldn't just let it drop. So, here we go!

**Q's and A's!** Here's the miracle that prevented me from skipping the questionnaire: **Do you think John is a good or bad influence on Gel?** I try to make them all opinion questions, so… -shrugs-

Oh, and something you guys might wanna be warned about…Envy does something in here that may or may not come to a surprise to you (I would aim more toward "not surprised", though).

Anyway…let's get cracking! (…Salties would be preferred, but if you like Grahams, that's fine, too)

_Suicidal Tendencies_

I closed the alchemy book and placed it back on the stack, finding myself unable to concentrate on the contents.

Okay, here's some info on what happened earlier today: Gel decided she'd try getting John to go on a date with her without him knowing that she's Gill from work. How she does it? Well, wait…is that really important? Let's just say she's dressed-up as a girl now and leave it at that. Anyway, it's probably almost midnight, the street-lights outside were starting to freak me out, and Gel _still _hasn't come back!

_Damn it, Gel, if you did anything stupid, I'm gonna thrash you!_

I shook my head rapidly, scrambling away from the stack of books. Okay…now I'm overreacting.

I decided a walk was what I needed and left the crevice in the abandoned building, sniffing the air cautiously to make sure there were no humans about and started…well, walking.

After a bit, I met up with a cat I hadn't expected to see in…well, I wasn't expecting to see him _ever_.

"Heya, Cloudy," I greeted, though I didn't bother putting any cheer into my voice.

"Mrow?" he mumbled, slowly walking toward me with a suspicious look in his green-gold eyes.

"Still don't trust me, I see." I was a little startled that he hissed at me, though I didn't flinch. "Can't really say that I blame you…"

He arched his back, fur all bristled, ears flattening against his head and his tail straight up in the air. I thought he was gonna attack me, but instead he crept a little closer and poked me with one of his paws.

I tilted my head to the side, not really understanding what was up with him. "Uh…what're you doing?" I almost laughed when he jumped back with a startled yowl, continuing with my walk a few strides before turning back to the silly white cat (though he was a grayish-brown from years of roaming). "Hey…you wanna come along?"

He stared at me for an instant, shook his head and turned around swiftly, walking around with his tail held high like a flag. I shrugged and went on my way, as well.

_Okay…now, which direction should I go? Probably the left so I don't stray too far from the "den"._

Having made up my mind at this time, I turned left at the next intersection, sticking to the shadows in case someone happened to decide to look out a window (the air was thick with the smell of humans, which meant a lot of windows were open and possibly people still awake this late at night).

After a few moments, I heard some talking up ahead. Listening more intently, I realized it was a couple; a girl and a boy, teenagers.

_Gel and John!_

Putting myself in gear, I hurried down the street and stopped just before I turned a corner, being close enough to hear their conversation.

"Heh, never knew _that_," I heard John say, a moderately mild tone of humor in it.

"Apparently," Gel began to respond, "You don't know very much about alchemy."

Okay…so they were talking about alchemy. I can roll with that for now.

I turned the corner when I was aware that they were distancing themselves from my position, still keeping to the shadows so they wouldn't notice me (man, I'm _so_ glad this city is rat-infested so they won't take my claws scraping against the concrete suspicious).

They weren't holding hands, so I was pretty okay with them still being together…so far.

_Don't make any sudden, unnecessary movements and no one will get hurt…_

"Apparently not." He looked at a hole in a building suspiciously as if he was expecting something to leap out at them, which I found mildly amusing (only because I didn't sense anything from there). "Why'd you decide to learn alchemy, again?"

"My mom was a scientist," she answered, tilting her head forward sullenly. "She gave me and my brother basic lessons, though I'm pretty much learning on my own, now."

"Why?" He turned back to her, sounding only faintly concerned. "Did something happen?"

My eyes widened in alarm, not liking the direction this conversation was going.

_Gel, you'd have better start coming up with excuses! I don't trust this kid at all, whatever-the-hell his name is. Don't tell him anything!_

Of course, she didn't hear me (apparently, that old connection had been severed a few years back so she no longer picked up any of my "vibes"). Instead, she told him that she had been kidnapped (thank god she didn't specify by who…) and her parents had disappeared while she was imprisoned. She also told him that her brother Danny was off at some military base.

If only you knew how relieved I was that she made absolutely no mention of us homunculi.

_You were cutting it a bit close there, Gel._

"So…you're pretty much alone?" She nodded and he stopped walking, grabbing her shoulders to make her face him fully. "Well…you don't have to be, you know."

Maroon eyes widened slightly in alarm, she tried to step away from him. I saw her flinch, which obviously meant he had tightened his grip on her. "John…what are you doing?"

His next set of actions _pissed _me off _so_ bad: he pulled her close to his body, forced his lips against her's and started stroking her ass.

Unable to hold myself back any longer, I growled viciously and stepped out of the shadows. I failed to look at my own shadow, which was that of a dog instead of a lizard. I didn't even notice I had changed my form until I found myself on top of his chest biting savagely onto his forearm.

"Gah!" he yelled under my weight, punching me in the chest that knocked me off of his chest. He then tried to tackle me, which I quickly dodged and nipped him in the ear, raking his cheek with my canine teeth in the process. "Damn mutt…!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gel standing there staring. She seemed mildly startled, but didn't dare move to save her "date".

"A little help, Gel!?" he asked desperately, trying to throw a blow at my muzzle but instead getting it trapped in my sharp teeth. He let out a startled shriek of pain as I used my inhuman strength to throw him at the wall, landing in the gaping hole in the building.

Now aware of what I had done but feeling no remorse toward the fool boy who had dared pull such moves on my dear Gel, I turned up to her and made sure my eyes flashed the usual purple I knew my lizard form had and started running down the street toward our little hide-out. I was aware of her following after me, but I didn't understand why she suddenly stopped with a gasp.

"Behind you!"

I looked back in time to see John pull the trigger of a pistol he had aimed at me before my vision flashed red and everything went black.

_**To Be Continued…**_


	22. No Remorse

**A/N:** Heh, guess I left a rather evil cliffhanger, there. And no, Envy doesn't die (if he did, it'd mean the end of the story!!), he's just injured.

**Q's and A's!** Okay, ummm…how about this one? **How easy do you think it will be for John to die?** I'm sure to get a lot of savage answers from this one…

Now…on with the story!

_No Remorse_

I slowly opened my eyes, aware of the shattering pain in my head and a dull throbbing from my left shoulder. My vision was blurry, so I couldn't make out my surroundings very well.

_Where the hell am I…?_

I then remembered John pulling the trigger of his weapon and was instantly on my feet, fangs bared though I still couldn't see very clearly. I swung my head around, ignoring the instant dizziness I felt and took a few steps forward and to the side. I hissed when I almost fell off a corner, realizing by the color of the platform I was on that I was on a wooden table.

"Hey, easy!"

I stiffened, turning my head in the direction of Gel's voice. "Gel…?" Still only able to make out bleary shapes, I recognized a copperish-brown haired person running toward me and felt arms wrap around my neck. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered, and by the soft tone I realized she was crying. "I'm so glad you're awake, Envy. I though he'd killed you."

"Speaking of…" I forced myself to trail off, putting my other revenge plot to the back of my mind. "He didn't hurt you?"

"No." She gently rubbed the right side of my head just above my eye-ridge, my vision still being too blurry to see her face properly. "He left me alone as soon as Mr. Havoc came by."

_Havoc…_

"Didn't he used to be in the military?"

"Yeah," and her hand paused, then rubbed more gently, tenderly. "Before he was put in a wheelchair."

I remembered Wrath saying something about Lust mortally wounding Mustang and Havoc when they had tried intruding into Father's lair, but it was still surprising to hear that Havoc was still unable to walk.

"Can you see me?"

I was aware of the subtle note of worry. "Not very well…everything's blurry." I felt her hand tremble slightly and was instantly concerned. "Why?"

"He…he shot you in the head, Envy…" By the trembling in her voice, I could definitely tell she was crying.

"…that bastard caused me a hell of a headache," I said in a sarcastic tone, attempting to joke lightly about the issue. "But otherwise, I'm functioning pretty well."

She gently rubbed my throbbing shoulder, and though I still couldn't see her face, I could imagine a contemplative look in her maroon eyes. "That's good to hear," she responded in a low tone, the trembling almost invisible. "Oh…and Havoc's parents are letting us stay in their basement."

"Really?" I saw her nod, though I seriously wished this blurriness would go away so I could see her eyes more keenly. "Do they know what I am?"

"I don't think so, though I think Havoc has a pretty good idea."

"…you didn't tell him anything, did you?"

"Didn't have to. Apparently, the Colonel's been keeping him updated."

That last detail didn't surprise me very much, seeing as when Flame-Head decides he trusts someone, he continues telling that someone as much as he knows that he would otherwise keep to himself about. "…okay. Ah…" I was hesitant to ask her this, but decided to ask anyway. "How's Al doing?"

There was a pause from her, which made me wonder if I'd asked too soon. She was still sensitive to the Event (you know what I'm referring to). "…I haven't seen him."

"…sorry." I settled myself back down with a sigh, closing my eyes hoping that somehow it would help clear my blurry vision. "So…where'd _he_ go?"

"…you mean my ex? I don't know." I heard a rustling of clothes and a mild creak from wood, which told me she had sat herself down on a chair. "He disappeared after Havoc intervened."

"Good." After a few moments of silence, I opened my eyes again to check my vision clarity. A little better, but still dizzying. "…how long was I out?"

She was quiet for awhile, which meant I was likely unconscious for a couple of days. "Almost two weeks."

I jumped in alarm, finding myself on my feet in a matter of seconds (okay, shorter than that…does it really matter?). "Seriously!?" I stared hard at her, trying to see her expression (damn this blurriness…). "Man…" Flinching my left arm, I then asked, "What happened to my shoulder?"

"…you were shot there, too."

"…ah."

Silence ensued for a moment before Gel spoke up again.

"How'd you do that?"

"Huh?"

"Turn into a dog."

Her question caught me off-guard, though I quickly regained my composure. "Oh…originally, I was a shape-shifter before New Greed and Wrath hired Kimbley to take away my powers."

I saw her stiffen in alarm out of the corner of my eye, noticing that she looked at me sharply. "_Greed_ did that to you!?" She shook her head when I nodded cautiously (my head still hurt like hell and I didn't want to agitate my injured brain any further). "Damn…I knew Greed had issues, but I never realized…" She paused, looking off to her right before turning back to me. "So you have your powers back?"

"I guess," I answered with a slight shrug, flinching when my shoulder hurt me from the movement. "Judging by the fact I'm still more or less trapped in a lizard body, I assume I can only change my form for a limited amount of time."

She stood up and walked to where she stood in front of me, which at first startled me. "How long do you think you can change? How big do you think you can get?"

"…I don't know," I answered after a bit, thinking. "Why don't we go on a test-drive?"

"Are you sure you're ready for that?" I knew instantly she was worried about my injuries.

"I usually heal faster than anyone else," I assured her, tilting my head and trying to smirk (though it was hard to do with this reptilian muzzle). "I think I can handle it."

She was quiet for an instant, then she walked out of my view and I felt a collar wrap loosely around my neck. "Okay…let's do it." I heard a 'click' that meant she was attaching the leash on it, then a very light tug. "I'll guide you, if you still can't see."

"I can see vague objects," I retorted, trying to lace my tone with humor so she wouldn't be offended ('cause really, I appreciated her offer). "I think I'll be okay."

So we went up a flight of stairs, Gel assured Havoc's parents that she was taking me out on a walk and that she was sure I would be okay (even telling them that if I fainted or had any trouble whatsoever, she'd bring me right back to rest), and soon we were out on the streets. I noticed that everything became darker, so I knew that she had taken me into an alleyway so I could shape-shift in private.

"Okay," she said almost excitedly, taking the collar off of me completely and, judging by the slight clang of metal, sat on a trashcan. "Let's get started."

I nodded, closing my eyes and concentrating. Picturing an eagle in my mind's eye, I felt my physical composition alter to fit the physical qualities of the animal in mind (I didn't want to try turning into a human quite yet). Opening my eyes, I was delighted to see that my vision had sharpened quite a bit (probably because the proportions of the brain changed…most likely) and I was a tad bit bigger, too. I almost grinned at the awed look on Gel's face, proud to amaze her.

"Envy, you're magnificent," she whispered, smiling and reaching a hand out toward my head. Of course, I let her pet me. "Think you can fly? If you feel faint or weak, come back down," she added with a tone of authority, to which a chuckled.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone long," I replied, spreading my wings and taking off. The pain had lessened during my transformation, and the elevation didn't disorient me at all. Soaring for a bit, my eyes instantly spotted someone I was meaning to get revenge on for pulling such foolish moves on Gel.

Down below was John, leaning against a wall and looking bored.

_Well, you won't be bored for long_, I thought cruelly, diving in toward him and spreading my wings the instant I was close enough to rake his face with my talons. I almost started cackling when he shrieked in startled pain, swooping in for another landing. I raked against his hands and scalp, screeching for effect. _How do you like that, eh?_

After a few minutes, I decided I'd scratched him enough and flew back to where Gel was. Almost as soon as I arrived, a sharp pang of pain hit my entire body and I unwillingly returned into the lizard body.

She ran toward me, the blurry vision returning so I couldn't see her face. "Envy, are you okay!?"

"Yeah," I partially lied, getting back onto quivering legs. "Hey, let's go back. I don't think I can handle another transformation…"

She nodded, putting the collar back on me and carrying me back to the Havoc's.

It was when Gel read me the newspapers the next day that I learned that John Fax had bled to death from suspicious wounds on his head and upper body.

_Heh, let's see you touch Gel like that again, perv!_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	23. Aim for Big

**A/N:** 'Ello! Uh…don't really have anything to say. Well…other than Envy wasn't necessarily intending to kill John (though it was clear to see that he didn't feel guilty about the somewhat unexpected death).

**Q's and A's!** Yeah, I cheated by answering my own question XD Couldn't help it. Now, here's the question: **How excited would you be if you met either Gel or Envy (or both) in reality?** I don't know why, but when I have dreams about Envy, he either calls me Gel or Sorrow… –looks around nervously – Is that a good or bad thing…?

Let's get going.

_Aim for Big_

So, after I woke up from my, er…mini-comma, Gel and I have been going out so I could practice my shape-shifting. Of course, I have a limited amount of time in a new form, and the time varies depending on how big or small I get (the smaller the animal, the longer amount of time I can stay in that form, etc).

Today, about two or so months from where I left off, I was in the form of a parakeet (she asked me to take this form, alright? Now shush!) fluttering about the alleyway, trying to act like I was frightened out of my mind only without the ridiculous squawking.

She was sitting on a trashcan, giggling hysterically but trying to stifle it behind her hands.

After a moment, I got bored with flying pathetically and perched on her shoulder, shifting my shoulder uncomfortably.

"Still sore?" she asked, noticing the way I folded my left wing.

"Yeah," I drawled, giving a one-shoulder shrug. "It's not bad, really. Just makes for uncomfortable flying, that's all."

"How's your head?"

"About the same as my shoulder." Watching a cockroach skitter across the floor and behind a different trashcan than what Gel was on (who knew those stupid insects came out during the day?), I flittered off her shoulder and landed as gracefully as this form would allow me, turning back into the lizard-like…animal, thing (okay, you can stop laughing now). "So…tomorrow, we should try for something bigger."

"Okay," she said thoughtfully, looking at me with contemplative aqua-blue eyes. "Ummm…what do you have in mind?"

"Maybe a large dog, something I've shifted into before," I answered simply, walking grudgingly toward the collar and leash. "When I can get to a human body and stay that way, we won't need these ridiculous things." I partially glared at her when she laughed. "I'm serious –I don't like having to go around with a collar and a leash." Looking away, I quietly added mentally, _I want to be free._

She was quiet for a moment, cautiously lifting the leash and collar but not putting them on me. "You know…since we're still experimenting with how big you can get, why don't we see if you…" I looked up at her when she trailed off, already understanding where she was going and wondering why she was stopping herself. "No, the Havoc's have already familiarized themselves with your larger form. Damn, too late to have you use that smaller form of yours…"

I shuddered, leaning against the trashcan. I didn't like being that form: limited mobility, no capacity for communicating…I did _not_ want to be thrust back into that state again. Not for any reason.

I felt her gently place the collar back on me, though instead of giving a light tug like she usually did she waited 'till I started going on my own. Looking up to see that she was lost in her own thoughts, I decided to…well, just head back to the Havoc's.

AlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMy

The next morning, Mrs. Havoc decided to bring me breakfast. I wasn't really expecting this, since the old woman usually tried keeping her distance with me, though that didn't really stop me from being tolerant of her.

"That girl really likes you," she said, cautiously setting the plate of scrambled eggs in front of me. "You really seem well-trained and all…"

I pretended to ignore her after seeing the apprehension in her eyes, eating though I didn't really feel hungry.

She stood there for a moment, then turned around and went back up the stairs and out of the basement. Gel, as I was already aware, had already gone upstairs to have breakfast with the Havoc's. Still didn't understand why they had me eat by myself, though.

_It's because I'm not human._

Well, who gives a crap about me not being human, anyway? I don't really want to be a human, anyway…do I?

I heard glass shatter upstairs and Mrs. Havoc yell in surprise. Abandoning the half-empty plate in front of me, I leapt off the table and hurried up the stairs (tripped several times because I still have eight legs). Nudging the door open with my snout, I smelled gunpowder and could only guess that someone was being held hostage.

"Now, don't worry," I heard an eerily familiar voice sneer, a sickening smugness smothering his tone. "I'm just here to take the girl."

_Kimbley!_

Growling, I pushed the door open enough to let me through and glared at the fool alchemist who had dared intruding on a peaceful family. He had Gel's back pressed firmly against his chest with a gun aimed at her head, which halted me from taking any more steps toward them. I growled more savagely, coldly when he looked disgustedly down at me.

"What the hell is that?" he asked, almost taking the gun off her head as he continued staring at me. He snapped back to his kidnapping-duty when she tried snatching the gun away from him, grinning snidely. "Apparently a distraction. Well, that won't happen again."

While Kimbley was preoccupied with both me and Gel, Mr. Havoc pulled out a pistol he apparently had concealed in his jacket pocket, aiming it directly at he idiot kidnapper's head.

"If you don't let her go, I'll shoot," the old man said in a low, threatening voice, though I couldn't see his face 'cause he had his back toward me. I was impressed with his tone, nonetheless.

"If you shoot, I'll shoot, too," Kimbley replied smugly, making his own weapon click and pressing it more firmly against Gel's head, which made her flinch. He started backing toward the door, out which flipped…

_Great, Squinty-Eyes…I really hate these types of reinforcements._

New Greed grinned, trying to look a little friendly. "Now, put the toys away, gentlemen," he said, motioning toward the guns. "No need to get violent."

"Easy for you to say," I heard Kimbley say to the young homunculus, sounding a little ticked. "Just keep the old couple busy while I take Gel with me, 'kay?"

I looked toward the window the idiot alchemist entered the house through and leapt through the empty space in the glass, hurrying toward a car that was parked outside. Shifting into a Doberman, I leapt behind the car and waited.

It didn't take very long for Kimbley to take Gel to the car, and when he came around to where I was, he was alone.

_Good. No reason to hold back._

Baring my fangs, I barked the same time I leapt at him, easily fitting his arm into my jaws and feeling the bones crack from underneath my teeth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gel watch my attack from the car window. I narrowly missed being hit by the butt-end of the gun he had, skittering to the side as he fired off a shot. Not wanting to give him time to retaliate, I crushed his hand between my teeth and damaged his weapon, tossing my head to the side as I raked the side of his face with my canine fangs.

"Damn mutt…" I heard him mutter as he pulled a tazer out of his pocket, trying to shock me with it. He scowled when I easily dodged the attack and was barely able to kick me off his body. He should be grateful I let him get back on his feet.

I leapt to the side as a broad duel sword came swinging down at me, snapping my jaws at that damn Squinty-Eyes. _I still have a score with both of you bastards!!_ I thought as I jumped in a way that would force New Greed to stumble on top of Kimbley. _Good, got you on the same spot._ Shifting into a chimera I remembered seeing that was a lion-lizard cross, I leapt on top of them, intending to tear out their throats.

"Stop it, Envy!"

I froze, looking in Gel's direction and realizing she had exited the car, standing near the rear and trembling with fear and anger.

"That's enough," she said a little more calmly, though with the same force. "I think they've learned their lesson."

Watching her, I slowly unhinged my jaws that were around Squinty-Eyes' head, taking my massive paws off of Kimbley's throat and cautiously stepping off of them. Looking down at them, I was amused to watch them pass out. _Strange, guys…I never would've taken you fools as the type to pass out so easily._

Gel gently placed a hand on the back of my neck, aqua-blue eyes filled with sadness and worry when I looked into them. "I think we'd better leave," she whispered, and I could tell easily that she was struggling not to cry.

When we came to our usual ally, the pain in my body was too much and I had to revert back to my lizard form. I didn't even bother trying to stay on my feet, collapsing as soon as my transformation was complete.

She sat on he usual trashcan, not even attempting to look at me. "Envy…why do you have to be so violent?"

Instead of answering, I lowered my head into my paws and muttered, "I'm sorry."

Shaking her head, she turned away from me slightly, folding her arms. After a few moments of silence, she whispered, "Thanks for trying to protect me, though."

"No problem," I responded before I was aware that my brain had thought up such words, partially stunned that I found protecting her easy. I mean, before I was assigned to protect Pipsqueak, I had never thought much about protecting any human and likely would've rebelled if someone were to propose the idea to me. I guess she changed me in more ways than I realized…

_Next time, I'm aiming for bigger._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	24. Cursed We Are

**A/N:** Okay, one thing I forgot to place in the last chapter: I had to leave for a few days, so that's the main reason why I didn't update. I know I managed to tell three of my reviewers this news, but for the rest who didn't know: sorry!! Hope this chapter makes the wait worth it!

**Q's and A's!** Some of your responses to my last question really gave me an idea of how to connect what's happened in previous chapters to what I want to have happen in later chapters, and this'll be the result! Now, for the question: **Although I kept Envy in-character at the beginning of the story, do you think I made him change too much too fast?** This question'll be in debate in the chapter, and it's also been bugging the fudge out of me since I started in this little "debate contest" in the forums section about Envy's character. So…yeah, I think I'm done blabbering.

Moving on…

_Cursed We Are_

So, we're back at square one (or is it two?): we're roaming around, looking for jobs and places to stay (since John's death, Gel decided to start renting hotel rooms again). Occasionally, we'd run into blocks where we'd have to try avoiding New Greed (I battered Kimbley bad enough to where he has to "take it easy". Five points for me, Kimbley zero!) and getting caught in general. Strangely, I haven't seen New Envy at all (or, at least…I don't think I have), so we're pretty alright. I'm partially surprised Pride hasn't found us, with his ability to "travel through shadows" and all that. Wrath's been too busy with taking care of Mustang and those other guys, so it's not amazing that he hasn't tried capturing Gel or I.

Right now? We're sitting in our hotel room, reading through alchemy books to…well, find out something new we don't know about alchemy. So far, this search was just agitating me.

She was annoyed with it, too, 'cause after awhile she growled and slammed the book shut. "Alright, break time. Let's go for a walk or something," she announced, tossing the book on the bed and picking up the leash (we've gone through that routine so many times it's become habit. Still don't like having to wear that silly thing, though). Attaching it to my collar, she headed out of the hotel and toward a nearby park.

Although I wanted to try starting up a conversation, it would scare the crap out of people here and we'd have to never come back to the park again and, in an extreme case, leave the town completely. So I kept my fangs clamped.

Hmmm…this would be a good time for some reflecting.

Alright, ah…what to go with?

I still don't completely have a hold on what the Millennial Oracle is, though I have a really big idea. I still have nightmares, though some nights are more tolerable than others, so that's not a huge significance.

…perhaps I've become senile?

Pft, yeah right! I know I'm much older than most everyone on this planet, but there's no way my age has made a significant difference in the way I act…right?

Searching through memories of how I've acted and reacted to certain circumstances in the past and comparing them to how I'd act and react now, I was slightly perturbed. But I knew being senile had nothing to do with it…it was Gel.

How could a scant few years with a human girl change me while hundreds of years being with Father and the other homunculi didn't do anything to affect changes in me at all? I knew I'd been exposed to people very similar to her…but I was never really _with_ them for long periods of time. A few hours at most, but nothing like the way I've been with Gel.

Perhaps that's it. But…I've _killed_ children, little girls, almost exactly like her. Why was she so different?

"Envy?"

I jumped in alarm, instantly thrown out of my thought cycle. Shuddering to force my conscious back into place, I looked up inquiringly at aqua-blue eyes. She quirked an eyebrow at me, pulling me around behind a grove of trees so we could talk.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I was just thinking."

"You were thinking really deeply, then. You completely ignored that poodle that you usually roar at when she growls at you."

"We went by her already?" I almost laughed when she nodded slowly, eyes slightly wider than usual. "Man…I really was planning on scaring that mutt today. Oh well." Shrugging, I partially waddled back toward the path we were on before, smirking when she giggled at my silly display.

"Alright, we'll get going." Walking up beside me, she leaned forward and pet me between my eye-ridges. "After our walk, wanna go out for a treat?" She smiled when I nodded, aqua-blue eyes glittering. "Alright. Let me figure out where while we finish our walk, 'kay?"

I purred gently, the rumbling action causing it to sound more like a growl than anything else (pft, I sounded "cuter" when I was in that smaller form…).

After we finished our walk, we headed toward an empty alleyway. Huh, wonder what she's wanting to discuss…

"So," she drawled after we were out of earshot of anybody passing by on the streets, looking down at me with an almost enquiring look. "About what you were thinking…"

"What about it?"

"What do you mean 'what about it'? You've never been that deep in thought before, and when you go deep anyway it's always been something important. What was it you were thinking about?"

I looked away from her, eyes narrowed. She didn't really need to know, it just happened to be something that was bothering me at the moment. I decided to tell her that much, but when she started prodding me for more information, I stopped talking.

"Envy!" she said with severe impatience, stamping her foot. "Why are you being so damn stubborn!? You weren't like this at all when we first started actually talking!"

"Key word 'when'," I retorted, eying her. "When is now?"

She looked at me, aqua-blue eyes swirling with anger and puzzlement. "The present," she answered after a few minutes.

"Right. And weren't you just a few seconds ago talking about the past?" She nodded. "Doesn't there leave a time-gap large enough for there to be changes?" _I just gave you a hint, there. I'm gonna laugh if you miss it._

She blinked, seeming to have realized something. I saw her mouth out the words "time-gap" before turning away and leaning against a wall. So she got the hint. Now she just needs time to figure out the meaning.

I felt a tingling sensation and instinctly looked over toward the street and saw a cloaked woman leaning against the wall. Though she had her head bowed, I noticed she had black hair that managed to tumble out of her raised hood. There was something eerily familiar about that woman…

Without turning my head, I looked at Gel when she crouched down to me, her eyes also on the strange woman in the hooded cloak. "Is there something suspicious about her?" she asked in a low whisper, pretending to be adjusting my collar.

Giving a subtle nod, I looked back to see the woman walking toward us.

_Why is she so familiar…?_

"Is there something we can help you with, Ma'am?" Gel asked her, soft scratching sounds indicating she was standing back up.

"You're Gabriella Mizou, are you not?"

I stiffened, both startled by her question and recognizing her voice.

_No…it can't be…_

"Wha-what do you want…?"

The woman lowered her hood…and if I had a heart, it'd dropped down to my stomach.

_Lust…_

"You're a homunculus!" I was glad she said this in a whisper, averting my gaze to give my mortal friend a rewarding look before looking back at _her_.

"Yes, I am," Lust replied in her usual tone, giving Gel her usual smirk. "Now that we've been introduced, there's something I need…"

"What do you want from me? Why are you…you things always after me!?" I looked up at her sharply when I heard the shrillness in her tone, the panic in her eyes concerning me.

"Silly girl." I turned my attention back to the face of Lust, slightly confused. "It's not you I'm after." Her lavender eyes turned downward toward me, a small smile on her face. I was hardly aware of the slight tug from my leash, hardly caring what'd happen to Gel anymore.

_With you, Lust, I'd go anywhere._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	25. Take Hold of the Flame

**A/N:** Again, I take longer than intended to get to the next chapter! DX

Ah…anyway, here's an update: Yesterday was my B-day! Whoo!! –nobody cheers – So obviously I had a busy day yesterday…

**Q's and A's!** Some of you agree with me, though I'm glad some of you think I didn't rush with changing Envy. Now, for this chapter's question: **How much trouble do you think Gel and Envy are in now?**

**(**_The following message applies to anonymous reviewers. Anyone who hasn't reviewed anonymously don't have to read the following message_**)**.  
**CJ**: Uh…heck yeah Manga!Envy needs more love! According to another reviewer of mine, there's only one other fic about Manga!Envy on FanFiction, so…and don't worry, I fully plan on finishing this story. No cancellations here!

Without further ado…!

_Take Hold of the Flame_

Lust lead us down a passage way in the sewers, Gel holding on tightly to my leash as if it somehow kept her alive. Although I wanted to walk by _her_ side, I also didn't want to leave the poor human behind.

I couldn't decide which female I wanted…

_This can't be the Lust I knew…she was murdered by Mustang._

Of course, Father always could've created a New Lust while I was gone (he was working on a New Gluttony when I was sealed into my smaller form). Although that could explain why _she_ was standing here before me, it didn't explain why she looked exactly like the Lust I grew up with.

_It hurts to see her…_

The leash pulled back suddenly and I leapt back, trying to avoid being choked by the collar. Turning around to look at the young teen, I realized she had frozen herself into place.

Aqua-blue eyes turned down to me, a whirl of emotions in those orbs. She seemed worried and scared, of course, but…was that suspicion I saw in there? Jealousy? Why would she be jealous?

"What's the hold-up back there? Should I start carrying you two or something?" I turned back around in time to see her beautiful lavender eyes turn back toward us, flashing with mild impatience.

"N-No," Gel answered, trying not to sound scared (or perhaps angry?). "We can walk by ourselves."

She watches us for a few seconds before turning back around. "Ah, just stop stalling, alright? We're in a hurry."

Hurry? For what?

We walked on until we reached an area greatly resembling a platform, New Envy sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall. He gave me an instant glare when we stepped onto the concrete.

"About time," he muttered, standing up and sizing me up.

"What?" I asked calmly, not really understanding his anger toward me. "Is there something I did to make you cross?"

"What do you think!?" he spat at me, purple eyes flashing in a way that almost sent chills down my spine.

"Don't harass him too much," Lust warned, gently taking the leash out of Gel's hands and walking me toward what appeared to be an elevator. "We need him and his human, you know."

His glare turned toward her, hands clenched into fists. "That damn lizard got me into trouble with his shape-shifting! I can't believe I ever thought he was cool…!" The young homunculus continued ranting, making me wonder how I thought he was tolerable to begin with.

_Jeez, what a tantrum…_

We all crowded into the elevator, the beautiful homunculus holding my leash pressing the "down" arrow before the doors closed. Strange, I didn't remember the elevators being so high-tech…

When the silvery doors opened again, they lead to Father's lair, which again looked pretty much the same as it always did.

Instead of us waiting for his arrival this time, he was already seated in his chair, reading a manga with Wrath stationed at one side. Fortunately, New Greed was nowhere to be seen.

_Good riddance, bastard._

NE took a seat farthest away from me, which _she_ made sure I was close to Father. His eyes were still flashing, though his face was now (more or less) calm in comparison.

I looked up at Gel, noticing the distracted look she had in her eyes. What was she thinking about so deeply?

A dull thump of paper hitting paper (or basically the sound of a book being closed) sounded, meaning Father was "back with us" (no, that's not an alien reference, now be quiet). He was leaning forward toward me when I turned back toward him, his purple eyes contemplative and observant (maybe even a mild flicker of hope). "Envy?"

I nodded, setting myself down with my two rear sets of legs.

_Wonder what he could possibly want with me now._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	26. Follow the Sun Down

**A/N:** Okay, first of all:

My apologies to **Mei Fire**, for catching my mistake…guess this sort of thing happens when the air-conditioning breaks down and I'm ill, besides…or maybe I was thinking "marine" when I used "maroon", I myself don't know. –shrugs – Anyway, I've gone back and corrected the error, so everything aught to be alright now.

To **CJ:** I'll be sure to check it out, since I've paid Quizzila a few visits already. Wish you had a FanFiction account, though...

**Q's and A's!** Interesting answers, people! You should soon be able to find out what happens…either this chapter or next one (you'll hafta read to find out –wink –). Now…for the question: **How close do you think we are to Envy getting his powers back, Gel being free of Father's grasp, and the revelation of the Millennial Oracle?** Parts of this may be answered in this chapter, but the rest…well, take a guess.

Moving on…

_Follow the Sun Down_

"So you _do_ remember?" I asked incredulously, looking at Lust's beautiful face. I almost tripped on a huge crack in the concrete, glaring down at my claws which seemed to enjoy getting snagged.

She chuckled gently at my little display, brushing black hair off her shoulders when I looked back up at her. "Of course I do. Father restored my memories when he re-created me using the soldiers of Briggs."

"So that explains the war up there…" I gave Gel a quick look (remembering that she used to live in Briggs) before turning back to my reincarnated…er, sister. "How much has Father made you do, so far?"

"Not much," she answered with a small sigh, looking a tad disappointed. "Outside of the usual chores, anyway."

"Sounds dull…"

"Oh…why are we conversing with the lizard?" New Envy stated in a complaining voice, putting a vague emphasis on the word _why_. "And what do we need _it_ for, anyway?"

If Lust wasn't holding my leash, I would've sent the young homunculus child a glare. _Would you stop dissing me, already?_

"You'll see," _she_ answered, a small smirk on her lips when I turned back to her. Raising an eye-ridge at her, I looked back at the tunnel out ahead.

After awhile, I recognized where we were headed.

_No way…_

I turned back to Gel, who also seemed to recognize this particular tunnel. Aqua-blue eyes turned down toward me, fear practically glowing off of those orbs. I understood her fear, feeling a bit of discomfort myself.

We entered the room with the Array that almost took Gel's life, stationing us in one corner of the room and out of the way of the blood-red line of the special transmutation circle.

"I hope you've been studying up on your alchemy," NE whispered to Gel, leaning down to her level (either she's shorter than I thought she was or he made himself taller than he should be). "'Cause we really need some of that talent, here." He ignored me completely, which I was grateful for.

_She_ handed Gel the leash before leaving, giving me a strange smile before she disappeared from sight. What was that supposed to mean?

While Lust was gone, I inadvertently found myself reflecting again. Man, quite a habit I've seemed to have gotten into recently…

When I first met Gel, we were both in a pitiful position. Then when we escaped, we thought we were really free. Of course, it was an illusion.

After the escape, we found a sort of goal to chase, something that kept us going…and we remained together. Why did I stay with her? Because I was in a pathetic excuse of a "body prison" and needed her.

Agh, I've gone over that argument so many times it's gotten old…

Anyway, we found a goal. And we chased it.

Strange how we seemed to get no closer to it, how darkness always seemed to be at our heels when it seemed farthest out of our reach. It was almost like chasing the sun, following it 'till it set and following its light when it came back into the sky.

I focused onto reality, turning to my right and noticing that Gel was kneeling down next to me. Shakily grabbing my collar, aqua-blue eyes filled with apprehension, she whispered, "I'm scared, Envy."

I scooted a little closer to her, eyeing Replacement to make sure he wasn't paying attention (it looked like he had fallen asleep on his feet, silly really…). "It's alright to be scared," I whispered back, placing my tail around her legs (though not close enough to cause her to fall or anything). "I'm a little nervous, myself. But if they need you to do what I think they need you to do, I think you'll get out unharmed this time."

"What about you?" Her voice held a quiver here, which made me worried. Was she really more worried about me than herself?

"…I don't know," I answered honestly, staring at the Array set before us.

_Looks like this may be my last time following the sun down…_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	27. Burn Out the Stars

**A/N:** Whoo…man, so close…

Ah…hmmm… -thinks some more- I'm not sure what to say…

To **Mei Flower:** Don't worry, the answers are closer than you think. **CJ:** Awww…hope things turn up soon! And I'll try getting around to them :p

**Q's and A's!** Alrighty…here's the question: **Do you think someone important is going to die this chapter, next chapter…?**

Rolling on…

_Burn Out the Stars_

Lust hasn't returned yet, and neither Gel nor New Envy seem to be interested in talking at the moment, so I'll go ahead and try explaining a few things in the meantime.

After our arrival, Father gave a very brief explanation of what he was expecting (although he seemed to think that I already knew the plan, 'cause he left out a lot of details). Basically, he wants Gel to make a new Philosopher's Stone out of the people rounded up at Central when the war finally hit the area (as well as a few other select cities, villages, etc.) and apparently I have a huge involvement in the operation (which confuses me, 'cause I was never needed the last several times he made Philosopher's Stones). Oh, and he gave a small apology for believing the words of New Greed when he claimed I had died (I can only assume that he "took care of Greed", however that might've happened).

I looked toward Gel, who was still kneeling down beside me, nervously messing with the collar that was around my neck (still don't like having such a trivial thing on me). New Envy…well, still looking asleep (is that drool on the side of his face?).

I quickly noticed Lust coming back in, looking…well, pleased. With what, I could only imagine (I know I've already stated that we hardly change, but there's no telling what I've missed out on because of New Greed's, Wrath's, and Kimbley's actions from eight years ago). Anyway, the smirk that was on her face vanished when she noticed NE asleep on his feet and smacked him.

"Wha –!?" He staggered a bit, rubbing his jaw and giving _her_ a look that I would best describe as pitiful. "What was _that _for!?"

"Stop being lazy," she answered, walking past him and to the center of the Array. "That's Sloth's job."

Oh, and speaking of Sloth…

According to Lust, Sloth got into an "accident" of sorts and was destroyed. Father brought him back, of course, but because he didn't really have much of a memory to begin with, he didn't bother restoring Sloth's memory (or…what he might have remembered, anyhow).

I looked at Replacement and had to clamp my fangs shut to keep from laughing at the expression on his face. Gel seemed to calm down a bit, too, judging on the way she just simply held the latch of the leash instead of meddling with it like she was a few seconds ago.

"I am not lazy…" For whatever reason, I found his whimpering tone both amusing and…well, I guess I also felt sorry for him. Not sure why, though…

Lavender eyes turned toward me, then rested on my mortal friend. "Ready?"

I nodded slowly, gently nudging Gel with the tip of my tail on her ankle.

"I think so," she answered hesitantly, aqua-blue eyes filled with fear. The faint "tone" of distance in her eyes told me that she was remembering the last time we were here, though which part of the memory I could only speculate.

Nodding, my, er…sister tapped the center of the Array with her heel before walking back toward us. Clanking shortly followed, ending when Sacrifices surfaced from the depths of the trap doors in a neatly arranged pattern (not much different from the last time). She gently pushed Gel toward the Array, holding up an arm to prevent the childish homunculus from (I'm guessing) kicking me forward. She completely ignored the angry look he gave her, which made me want to chuckle.

"Hey," I heard NE begin to say, not bothering to look back to see his expression ('cause I figured he was only talking to Gel, anyway). "Try not to mess up, 'kay?"

The only human in the room stiffened, nervously looking back. "What'll happen if I _do_ mess up?"

There was silence for a moment before he answered cautiously, "You don't wanna know."

His answer was assuring to neither Gel nor me (she was obviously scared because she was trembling faintly).

Leaning down toward me, she took off the collar and tossed it along with the leash to the two homunculi nearest the hallway leading back to Father. Rubbing my eye-ridge, she whispered, "Well…here goes nothing, huh?" Getting onto her knees, we both pressed down firmly on the specialized transmutation circle (in her case? Her hands. Mine? Paws) and her eyes narrowed in concentration.

Almost the instant the Array lit up, I was once again hurled into that world of white and gold, the strips of memory floating above my head. But, unlike last tine, the strip circled around me, an eerie vision darkly printed onto the paper-thin material.

AlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMy

_In the darkness of the room stirred people –priests, women, children –with dark skin and bright violet eyes, all of them clad in ceremonial robes. They appeared to be in some sort of temple, for at the front of the room between two massive onyx pillars was a type of wood-and-stone altar. In the empty space before the altar was a large Array, very similar to the one Ed, Ling and I found in Gluttony's stomach back when we were swallowed._

_The head priest stepped forward, pulling up a sleeve and pulling out an ivory knife. Pressing the white blade against his skin, he let his blood drip onto the symbol etched into the altar, the red liquid filling the space and eventually flowing to the other designs attached to it. The end result of this action was a small transmutation circle make of blood of the Xerxes priest._

_Some of the women and children, who were bound at the wrists and chained at their ankles, were herded to the center of the Array, most of the younger children crying piteously while the others stood calmly. It was as if they were volunteering themselves to be Sacrifices for whatever the priest had in mind._

_A man from amongst the crowd of bystanders walked cautiously toward the priest, wringing his hands nervously. "How long?"_

"_Not much longer," the priest answered, rubbing the scar on his right cheek before looking at the man. "The Millennial Oracle will soon be with us."_

_His eyes glimmered hopefully, curiously. "A god in living flesh…" A small smile graced his lips as the priest wrapped an arm around his shoulders, a small smile also on his lips._

"_Yes, Father. Just as you've always dreamed…_we_'ve dreamed," he corrected himself, looking back at the altar. Raising his arms above his head, he began to chant in the language of the Xerxes people, his father and everyone (outside of the Array) soon joining him in a haunting chorus. As he chanted, he stepped closer to the Array, eyes flashing wildly, he sprinkled a little more of his blood onto the altar. His disciples followed suit, each one passing the same ivory knife to the last._

_As I watched this scene, I began to float closer and closer to the Array, somehow drawn to it by some mysterious force._

_The scarred priest walked to the back of the altar, hands once again raised above his head. "Oh, great Millennial Oracle!" he began in a summoning voice, his voice somehow booming over the chanting people in the temple yet at the same time mingling in with their whispers. "By the name of existence and the rights of rentanjutsu, we ask of you…to bless our people with your presence!!" Spreading his fingers suddenly, palms facing the crowd, he threw his hands down on the circle on the altar, the blood on it lighting up and the Array lighting up, as well._

_The light illuminated the room so much it was blinding, but when it all cleared, I found myself at the center of the Array…in my True form. I looked out over the crowd, noting the awed expression of the men, women and children who were left. Turning my massive head back to where the priest had stood during the ceremony, I was slightly surprised to see he had vanished. Somehow, I knew I had absorbed him into me…and there were other things I seemed to know, as well._

"_Oh, Millennial Oracle!"_

_I turned toward the priest's father, who had his arms spread out to take in my massive size without touching._

"_We thank you for descending upon us mortals," he continued, violet eyes flashing with fear despite the look of pleasure and awe on his face. "Now we ask…for your infinite wisdom and knowledge!" He quickly fell to his feet in a bow, the people amongst the crowd doing likewise._

_I raised my head, about ready to open my mouth…_

_An ear-splitting scream filled the air, followed by a massive blood-bath as black shapes emerged from the corners of the room and sliced through their bodies like a knife through butter. People were frantically trying to escape these shadowy specters, but no matter what or where they went, they were all slaughtered in a short amount of time._

_As abruptly as the attack began, is ceased with a soft hiss as the shadows went back to their proper places in the corners of the dark temple._

_Turning behind me, I noticed a man with blonde hair and purple eyes, skin so fair it seemed to have never been properly touched by the sun. He stood on top of the altar, a hand slowly stretching out toward me. When the tips of his fingers touched my nose, a spark went off and I found myself in a child's body when the light vanished._

_"Wait here, Envy," the strange man said before turning back around and disappearing into the shadows, leaving me trembling in fright…_

AlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMy

The ribbon uncoiled itself around me, leaving me feeling stunned.

I_'m the Millennial Oracle…?_

_**To Be Continued…**_


	28. Chase This Light

**A/N:** Alright…to my anonymous peoples: **Mei Fire:** Sorry, sorry…anyway… Ah, one of your guesses is correct. That's all I'll tell you right off the bat. **CJ:** Hope this cheers you up! …maybe.

**Q's and A's!** Last question was a bit of a foreshadower…anyway, for this chapter's question: **Would anybody be sad if someone vital to the story died?** I'm not saying it'll actually happen in the story, more of a curious question…

Rollin', rollin', rollin'…!

_Chase This Light_

I couldn't believe the revelation I'd just experienced. It was just…surreal.

Looking down, I realized I couldn't see myself.

_What's going on!?_

The white and gold around me slowly dimmed until it was a dark reddish black, the hue vaguely reminding me of the Interval (you know, the place you go to when Gluttony eats you?). Aware of the presence behind me, I turned around.

Standing behind me was a large creature that looked near identical to my True form, only it was radiating a wild myriad of exotic colors. I don't know why, but its presence was…comforting.

Raising its head, it asked in a voice that was neither male nor female, "Do you know what I am?"

Without hesitation, I answered, "The Millennial Oracle." I hadn't intended to answer, again feeling confused. "Then…"

"You are the Envy that Father created."

Startled, I looked back down to see the human body I used to cherish. Was it really something that Father created and not I?

"See," the Millennial Oracle began to answer, walking slowly toward me. "You have found your own answer."

I turned back to the god-like specter, its swirls of colors distorting it to the point where it began to look more like a glowing shape than anything else. "So you _are_ me…?"

"Yes." It stopped just in front of me, its towering size somehow failing to make me feel insignificant. "You are not happy to be in a human body."

"Ah…" I looked away, trying to organize my thoughts into coherent words before speaking again. "It's not as exciting as I thought it'd be, that's all…"

"It is because you have found something _more_."

I looked back at the glowing specter of magnificent colors, not fully understanding its implication. "What do you mean…?"

"Do you not know?" Its form began to alter again at this time, shrinking and becoming more human-like.

Feeling only faintly confused, I looked toward another thread of memory that slithered its way toward me. My eyes widened at the images.

"Gel!"

I turned sharply back to the Millennial Oracle as it nodded, noticing it was now about my height.

"Yes." A hand swirling with reds, oranges and yellows reached out to the thread, easily wrapping its fingers around it and slowly extending it out to me. "You desire to be with her?"

I nodded, gently taking the thread in my hands. "Very much so…"

"Go to her." It gently turned me around toward a door surrounded in white and gold light, its hands on my shoulders. "You now have the power. If you require assistance, you know how to reach me…you know how to reach your _heart_."

Closing my eyes, I felt a new surge of power flow through my body, a power I never before had ever felt. Strangest thing about this sensation? I felt it strongest in my head, my mind, and my chest…my heart.

Reopening my eyes, I stepped through the doors…

…and stepped out into the center of the Array, blood splattered all over the floor and some of it streaking up the walls. Looking out toward the corner, I realized that Lust had disappeared and a lizard-like creature lay dead where New Envy originally stood.

Looking at my own hand, which glowed with the same mixture of colors as the Millennial Oracle…me…I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. My heart sank as I realized what had happened.

"Gel…"

She lay near the wall, somehow thrown off the Array while I was inside The Gates. She was on her side, head turned downward and copper-brown hair tumbled over so that I couldn't see her face.

I made my way toward her, trembling and feeling the energy slowly drain from my being. Fell to my knees when I was near enough.

"No…!"

Hearing a small, weak gasp, I gently pulled her away from the wall so that I could lay her on her back. I smiled down as pale blue eyes opened and turned toward me.

"Envy…?"

I put my hand over hers, feeling the tears coming to my eyes. "Yeah, it's me…" Gently placing a hand on her shoulder when she rolled back onto her side in an attempt to get up, I commanded in as gentle a tone as possible, "Stay still…you're hurt."

Her pale eyes began to turn gray, which frightened me. They slowly closed, her body becoming limp again.

"Gel…!" Panic beginning to take hold of me, I leaned closer to her, feeling her life force draining beneath my hands. "Please don't go…" I am not ashamed to say that my voice sounded choked.

"I would never leave you," she whispered, opening her eyes again and giving me a small smile. "Just wait…I'll be right there…" Her body went limp, though she was still breathing…barely.

I gently stroked her cheek before attempting to pick her up, finding myself able to do a small amount of levitation on others (which was incredibly helpful).

_I can't heal you…but I know someone who can._

_**To Be Continued…**_


	29. The End of Heartache

**A/N:** Alrighty…

To my anonymous reviewers…  
**Mei Fire:** As my dad always tells me, "You're psychic message is not getting through…you need to think harder" XD And don't worry…things'll turn up.  
**CJ:** Glad I could help! And yes…it was strange (only because I couldn't figure out what else to do with him). Then…prepare to be even happier! XD

With nothing else to say that won't make readers depressed, I present to you…!

_The End of Heartache_

While I was inside The Gates, the military had found Father's hideout and had sent in troops…including State Alchemists…to search out the place and take in prisoners. Using my powers to search through these Alchemists, I was slightly surprised to find Alphonse Elric within the ranks…and he had somehow regained his human body.

Now? I was holding Gel close, carefully monitoring her vital signs while simultaneously trying to keep track of where the older boy was (well…technically, he's an adult now, but you get what I mean, right?).

After pinpointing where exactly he was, I started making my way toward Father's main room (you know, where the elevator stopped at and where he has his "special chair"?), careful with the precious cargo I held in my arms.

Her signs were low and her face was ghastly pale, but I could still feel her life force barely holding on to the badly-injured body.

_Hold on, Gel…we're almost there._

I had to stop several times to avoid running into military soldiers, finding a third useful ability: transparency. Now, if only I could walk through walls…

Feeling a faint shudder, I hurriedly looked down at my (possibly) dying friend. Almost sighed when I realized it wasn't the rattle of death that caused her to shudder.

Looking up and down the corridors, I swiftly resumed my ascent to Alphonse's location.

_We're here, Gel! Don't let go!_

Standing near Father's chair was a young man in his early twenties with blonde hair that had a hint of brown and wearing a cloak that greatly resembled Edward's. When he turned toward me, I saw that his gold eyes had a hint of gray, making them appear almost brown. But there were enough similarities for me to know who he was.

"Alphonse…" I looked back down at the beautiful young teenage girl I held in my arms, feeling the desperation holding even tighter than before. "I…need you to do something for me."

The young man, Alphonse, hurried over, alarm in his faded gold eyes. "Gel…? What happened!?"

"It's a long story," I answered quickly, tilting her head slightly to help straighten her airway, noticing her breathing was becoming weaker. "And we really don't have time for it."

I guess he noticed the hurt I failed in covering up in my voice (don't gawk, I really admitted defeat), a sympathetic look on his face. "She doesn't have much longer, does she…?"

Biting my lower lip, I nodded hesitantly. "Al…" I lowered myself to my knees, no longer able to stand for fear of falling over in distress. "Please…can you heal her…?" My heart sank at the hesitation in his being, his mind revealing to me doubt.

"I don't know, Envy…"

A splitting pain hit my chest as I hugged her to my chest, my forehead against hers. I can't believe I was so close to crying…but I didn't want to lose her. I was helpless to do anything else…

He knelt down in from of me, placing a gloved hand on my shoulder (damn, I was trembling…). "But I'll try…" His eyes were on Gel when I looked up at him, hope beginning to grow inside of me. "I'll try to open The Gates."

I nodded, gently laying my beloved Gel on her back between Al and I. Stroked copper-brown hair out of her face before pulling back to give the young alchemist room to do his work.

A sharp sound echoed off the walls as he clapped once, placing his hands on his chest in something of an X. Then a blinding light exploded, white and gold filling my view. And then, we were standing before The Gates, Gel's body lying between us.

It opened barely a crack, but wide enough to allow a shape to slither out. That shape turned out to be The World.

A grin spread on its detail-less face, its translucent form slowly walking toward us. "So it's you two again, eh?"

"Cut the crap," I interrupted coldly, glaring as icily as I could. "Open The Gates."

"Now, now," it started in that annoying tone, seeming to be oblivious of my mission. "Don't need to be so hasty." It studied us a little more, the grin disappearing off its face when it noticed Gel's body. "So…you wish to collect the rest of her soul?"

I nodded, holding back the urge to swallow. Turned down to her almost lifeless body.

"If it's not too much trouble," Alphonse added, which made me give him a sharp look.

The World seemed to be contemplating about the situation, looking between Al and me before landing its gaze once again on Gel. "…what do you intend to give me as a Passage Fee?"

Feeling more desperate than I ever remembered, I scrabbled around in my mind for anything. Then, without thinking, I blurted, "You can have all the souls I have in here." As I said this, I tore open my chest to show it the Philosopher's Stone I still had inside of me. I barely noticed the stunned expression on the young Alchemist's face, though I didn't care if he thought I was crazy.

It nodded, reaching to grab it. Strangely, it didn't hurt when it pulled the Philosopher's Stone out, another organ quickly taking its place in my chest.

"You…" I turned my attention to Alphonse, who was staring at the opening. "You have a heart? But…homunculi…"

"I'm not a homunculus anymore," I answered simply, turning away from the gawking human back to The World. "Is that sufficient?"

"Yes," it answered after a moment, gently squeezing the item in its hands before reaching toward The Gates with its free hand. "It's more than sufficient…"

The Gates opened, another light filled my field of vision…

…and last I was aware, we were back in Father's main room, Al and I both on our knees with Gel laid out between us.

"Gel?" I asked softly, gently stroking her face.

A small moan escaped from her before aqua-blue eyes slowly opened toward me. "Hi, Envy…told you I'd be back."

I laughed, bringing her to a sitting position and hugging her. And I'm glad to say she was hugging me back with just as much force. "Don't scare me like that again…"

"Guess my brother was right about one thing."

Gel and I both looked at Alphonse, who had a small smile on his face and a light glimmer of sadness in his eyes. I knew he was remembering Edward, which obviously still hurt him to do. But his smile grew wider as he finished, "The only thing that can ever scare Envy is death."

I slapped his shoulder playfully, smirking when he chuckled. "It's not that funny, you know."

"Aw," she started, wrapping an arm around my shoulders (which was a bit awkward because she was situated in front of me). "Let him have some fun, Envy. But you do have a point…he needs to have fun with a different subject."

I would've started laughing except I couldn't help but notice that military soldiers were coming into the room. Helping her to her feet, we stood looking at all the soldiers with their guns pointed at us.

"It's okay," Alphonse said in a mildly commanding tone, raising his hands. "They're no threat. You two, escort this couple outside, alright?"

The two soldiers the alchemist pointed to immediately went to work, though they all stopped pointing their guns at us.

"Come along," one of them stated, gently taking Gel by the arm while the other did likewise to me. "We'll get you out of here."

I looked down at the young teenage girl with a smile, and she smiled back.

_We finally made it…_

_**To Be Continued?**_


	30. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the song that'll be sang in here.

**A/N:** Okay, got some fairly bad news…this is the last "chapter" (I don't count prologues and epilogues as chapters, but that's just me) in the story. Any chance of any good news? Ah…well, you'll see.

Some of you caught me not placing a question in the last chapter, and I'll tell you why: At the bottom of this finale, there'll be two questions. Remember, you can either answer them in a review or you can PM me your answers. This same reminder will be at the bottom, so you won't have to scroll back up to check "the rules" XD

Without further ado, I present to you…!

_Epilogue_

Standing on a stage, I gently took Gel's hands in my own, smiling gently down at her as she smiled back, completely ignoring the fact that I was dressed as the Fairy Prince.

Okay, I know you're all wondering "what the heck!?", but I assure you…it's just business. You'll find out in a few minutes, if you'll allow me to continue.

"_Let me be your wings_," I sang gently, moving in a way that would activate the mechanical wings on my back as the pulleys and harnesses brought us higher into the air. "_Leave behind the world you know, for a world of wondrous things…_"

She began to wrap her arms around my waist, pretending to hold onto me for fear of falling. Still holding onto her hand for assurance, I placed one arm around her shoulders in an act to prevent her from slipping.

"_We'll see the universe, and dance on Saturn's rings,_" I continued, motioning to the backdrop of Saturn with a glittering ring about it, to which she smiled dazzlingly at in pretend admiration. "_Fly with me, and I will be your wings._"

Unwrapping an arm that was around my waist, she brought it about my shoulders, gazing adoringly into my eyes…and I knew that the expression on her face was not for the audience, but truly for me. I barely discerned the other two actors below us saying their lines, noticing just in time to resume my part.

"_Anything that you desire, anything at all._"

"_Anything at all,_" she sang back, wrapping her other arm around my neck and allowing me to actually hold her.

I smiled more broadly as I continued singing, "_Every day, I'll take you higher, and I'll never let you fall!_"

"_You will be my wings,_" she sang, and I noticed the undertone of earnest, the imploringness that meant to me that she was not just singing her part, but also asking for my faithfulness.

"_I will be your wings,_" I assured her through my part, pretending to be flying as the harnesses started dragging me through the air in a slow circle.

Aqua-blue eyes glittered happily, which made me happy, as well. "_You will be my only love,_" she sang with a more subtle tone of imploringness, seeming assured that I would give her my honest answer.

"_Get ready for another world of wondrous things,_" I sang, secretly warning her of what she may be facing if she chose to continue staying with me.

"_Things are sure to happen,_" she answered, the look in her eyes telling me she was fully aware of the dangers that were eminent.

Together, we sang, "_Well see the universe and dance on Saturn's rings._"

The harnesses lowering enough for the tips of my acting shoes to touch the ground, I gave a small twirl to make it look like we were really landing from a flight.

"_Heaven isn't too far,_" I told her through song, still holding her hands delicately as she did a cute little twirl to make it seem as if I had unexpectedly let her go after the landing.

"_Heaven is where you are,_" she responded, playfully tapping my nose with a slight spark of mischief in her eyes. Of course, because we were on stage, I wasn't aloud to chuckle unless it was part of the script. So I bit down the urge.

Together: "_Stay with me…_"

At the same time as her, I sang "_And let me be your wings!_"

While she sang "_You will be my wings!_"

While we sang our final lines simultaneously, the harnesses swiftly pulled us back into the air in lift-off fashion, making it seem as if she had leapt back into my arms while I, the Fairy Prince, flew back into the air. The audience exploded in cheers as the harnesses brought us off-stage and the curtains closed, signaling the end of that bit of performance.

"You were wonderful," Gel told me as I set her down and allowed the stage manager take the harness off of her.

"So were you," I replied, making a small twirl so the harness would be taken off of me, too. "You're voice is beautiful."

"So is yours," she said with a small chuckle, wrapping her arms around my torso and smiling adoringly up at me.

"Brilliant!" The director was right next to us in no time, a happy smile on his face. "I'm a genius for hiring two lovers to play as lovers…the love you two were sending to each other was just what this performance needed!"

"It's only natural, you know." Gel flashed him a bright smile, turning back to the stage. "We're up in three seconds," she commented, pointing at the manager's assistant who was flashing us our free time (which ticked me off terribly). "Ready to go?"

"With you," I began to answer, gently stroking her face and smiling with as much tenderness as I'd ever allow myself to show in public, "I'd go anywhere."

She smiled, taking me by the hand and leading me back to the stage for us to finish the act.

AlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMyAlChEmYaLcHeMy

After our theatrical performance, Gel and I made our way to our apartment room.

"That's gotta be our most successful performance ever," she commented in a happy, pleased tone, tossing a small bag onto the bed and flopping down.

"No joke." I picked up her bag and pulling out the money. "Wow…didn't think audiences loved us this much." With all due honesty, I didn't think that anyone would find the performance of a non-human interesting in the least.

"It's because we respect and love each other that they find us relatable on stage," she retaliated, bringing herself to a sitting position and smiling at me. Aqua-blue eyes revealed to me her honesty, though I didn't need to look at her for confirmation to understand the fullness of her feelings.

Placing the money in a nearby drawer, I sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Ah…I suppose." I laughed when she smacked my hand playfully. "Aw, c'mon…you know I'm playing around."

She nodded, looking away with a small sigh. "So…"

"So…?" I repeated in a slightly questioning tone, wanting to know what was suddenly bothering her. It wasn't everyday that she suddenly changed moods like this, and it concerned me.

"Ah…" She was rubbing the back of her neck, which wasn't a good sign. "You're over four hundred years old, right?" I nodded. "Would you happen to know how much longer you have?"

I shrugged, leaning forward to get a better look of her face. "What exactly are you implying?" The message her mind was giving off was beginning to scare me, quite honestly…

"Well…maybe, if it means we could be together longer…I could become a homunculus…"

My eyes widened almost reflexively, my arm drawn away from her before both hands were on hers. "Gel! What in the meaning of existence gave you that idea…?"

Aqua-blue eyes stared at me, slightly alarmed. "Greed told me that he used to be a human before he was a homunculus…"

I gave her a sharp look to halt her thought, instantly not liking her direction. "No, Gel. You'd be miserable as a homunculus." I lessened my grip at her expression, the emotions swimming in her eyes making me feel guilty. "It's a cursed life, Gel. A life I don't want you to suffer through."

She looked away, slowly leaning against me after a few minutes of deep contemplation. "Oh, Envy…I just don't want to be separated from you. We've been together for over ten years, now…"

I placed my arm around her shoulders again, giving her a small hug of apology for my tone. "I don't like the idea of separation, either…but you know what?" She looked up at me, tears threatening to form in her beautiful eyes. "I have new powers, powers that allow me to do certain things. When your time comes…I'll open The Gates, every day, to see you."

She smiled at me sadly, gratefully, hugging me tenderly (don't worry, I hugged her back with just as much tenderness). "Thank you for staying with me…"

"No…thank you."

**_The End_**

**Q's and A's! **Alright, first question: **If I were to make a sequel, would you give me ideas for how the sequel should work out (problem, solution, new characters, etc.)?** Second question: **If I were to grant you the privilege of using Gel in your own stories, would you use her appropriately? **Remember, you can either answer in a review or PM me your answers... Sayanora and hope you enjoyed the story while it was still going! –huggles everyone –


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